Reproof and unconditional love

I have been reading The excellent Wife by Martha Peace and many parts have been convicting, but this one part really stuck out to me this week. The section is about reproof and showing unconditional love to your husband through giving it and receiving it in a gentle, humble, loving manner. If you are not married and reading this it still applies, other people in your life show you your weaknesses and we need to respond to them in a gentle and humble manner. The bible says that we are to help our brothers and sisters in Christ become more like Christ and one of the ways of doing that is to point out the faults and sin to them. It is hard to do this in love, but it is even harder to receive it humble and lovingly. The book gives 4 ways we respond and bible verse showing those are not biblical, they are as follows:

1. You become angry and lash out at them.

Through presumption(pride) come nothing but strife, but with those who receive counsel is wisdom. Prov. 13:10

2. You feel hurt, resentful, and unforgiving.
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God is Christ also has forgiven you. Eph. 4:31-32

3. You focus on the things he is doing wrong.
You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. Mathew 7:5

4. You suffer intense personal hurt.
...He (God) disciplines us for the good, that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet those who have been trained by it afterwords it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Hebrews 12:10-11 emphasis added.

When we do not respond with humility and gentleness when someone reproves us, then we are sinning. Even if the person who is reproving you is doing it in an angry, unkind manner, you are still responsible before God for your actions(how you respond.) So I urge everyone to work on receiving reproof in a loving, gently, humble way this week.