Nathan, the Tactful Prophet

Two words we need to see together more often. :) Nathan strikes the perfect balance between hellfire and brimstone and respectful suggestion. The point of his story hits hard, but the way he tells it gives David a chance to draw his own conclusions and make his own decision.

Nathan respects David's intelligence and right to make a choice. He doesn't go to him and lecture him as if he were a child. God does the same thing to us. He gives us time and space to make our own decision--He doesn't beat us over the head.

I am so bad at this. When people don't respond to truth, I want to bang them over the head with LOUDER truth. It just doesn't work that way. According to Proverbs, "a soft word breaketh the bone..."