Correction

2 Tim 2:22-26 (ESV)
So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. 24 And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

What I need to do to correct; how I should correct; and why.

What I Need to Do:

• Flee youthful passions
• Pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace with the brethren
• Avoid useless controversies

How I Do It:

• Don’t argue or quarrel
• Use God’s Word (able to teach)
• Be patient if offense is against you (patiently endure evil)
• Be gentle when approaching the offender.

Why Do This?

• If a non-believer: there is a chance they will be saved
• If a believer: God may enlighten them to His truth. With this truth, the believer may escape the traps of the devil (look at what the devil throws at believers to hurt us – the biggest thing is disunity).

If you feel the need to correct someone look at the previous to make sure it is done in a godly way.

Check yourself:
Is it out of selfishness? Are you seeking righteousness, love and unity?

Be careful on your approach:
Are you gearing up to fight or argue with your own wisdom? Are you ready to teach God’s word in the situation? If they are aggressive towards you, are you ready to be patient and gentle?

Make sure you motivation is right:
Are you correcting because you are right and they are wrong? Or are you seeking to share God’s truth with them in order that they may accept Jesus or escape the traps of the devil?

I just want to end this with verse 22, I believe this is the best encouragement on this topic: “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”