“There is one line in today’s reading that I find very beautiful. St. Paul tells the Corinthians: “I am writing you this not to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children.”

Paul was correcting them. There were problems in the community—pride, competition, divisions. Some thought they were better than others. So Paul asks a very humbling question: “What do you possess that you have not received?”

In other words: Why boast? Your intelligence is a gift. Your talents are gifts. Your opportunities are gifts. Even the people who helped you become who you are today are gifts.

That is the first lesson: Stay humble. Everything is gift.

Then Paul speaks about the cost of being an apostle. He talks about being insulted, persecuted, rejected, and treated as nothing. And yet he continues serving.

That is the second lesson: Choose faithfulness over popularity.

Today, we can become very concerned about what people think of us—how many likes we receive, how people react to us, whether people approve of us.

But sometimes following Jesus means doing what is right even when nobody applauds.

And then comes perhaps the most beautiful lesson.

Paul says, “I am writing you this not to shame you.”

There is a big difference between correcting someone and humiliating someone.

Before correcting another person, we should ask ourselves: Why am I saying this? Is it because I love this person and want him to become better? Or am I angry and simply want to hurt him?

Especially today, social media makes humiliation very easy. Someone makes a mistake, and immediately we post it, share it, comment on it, and sometimes destroy a person’s reputation.

Paul shows us another way: Correct, but do not destroy. Tell the truth, but tell it with love. Point out the wound, but help the person heal.

Correction with compassion

I remember a story about a teacher who discovered that one of her students had stolen something from a classmate.

She could have embarrassed the boy in front of everyone. Instead, she quietly asked him to remain after class.

She spoke to him privately. She told him what he had done was wrong. But before he left, she said: “What you did was wrong, but I know you can become better than what you did today.”

Years later, that student remembered not simply the correction, but the dignity with which he was corrected.

Final Words

My dear brothers and sisters, sometimes people do not need someone to condemn them.

They need someone who loves them enough to tell them the truth—and loves them enough to stay with them as they change.

So when you have to correct someone—your child, your spouse, your friend, your coworker—remember St. Paul: Do not correct to shame. Correct to heal. Correct to guide. Correct because you love.”