Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley are close friends. Sir Charles declares openly his love for Jordan.
Barkley thinks Jordan has a big problem, and one that is not going away anytime soon. Simply put, Jordan has no one who is willing to do anything but fawn over him. Jordan is too powerful for anyone to tell him what he needs to hear. As a result, Jordan has habitually made stupid mistakes as a basketball executive.
Sir Charles has something to teach us Christians: We should not fear man (Isa. 2:22). Isaiah tells us to “Stop regarding man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils; for why should he be esteemed?” We also must remember the nature of biblical love. Prov. 27:5,6 is instructive: “Better is open rebuke than love that is concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.”
Does Mark Driscoll have these kinds of friends? Do we?