"Open rebuke is better than secret love." (Prov. 27: 5 KJV)
What does this proverb mean? Open rebuke we can fairly understand. There is a difference between "open rebuke" and "public rebuke." One may openly confront another about a wrong without it being public. The Hebrew word for "open" is galah and is not the normal word for "open." The Hebrew word means "to uncover, remove" (Strong)
The KJV translates the same Hebrew word with these words: uncover (34x), discover (29x), captive (28x), carry away (22x), reveal (16x), open (12x), captivity (11x), shew (9x), remove (6x), appear (3x), miscellaneous (18x).
Thus, by "open" we mean a "spoken" reprimand. It is one thing to form a judgment about a wrongful act by an actor and another to communicate that judgment to the actor. As long as the judgment is left unspoken, residing only in the mind, then it is covered, unrevealed, hidden, or otherwise not known (i.e., the opposite of open or uncovered). An example is when we feel hurt by an action of another, as a spouse, and are angry, and yet we say nothing to the one who hurt us. So, rather than confronting the one who caused the harm, anger and bitterness are harbored, covered, and hidden. We should think of the word "disclosed" versus "undisclosed" rather than discovered or undiscovered. Love discloses the wrong.
A "rebuke" is spoken. It is not merely a thought or mental judgment. It is the judgment of the mind made known or uncovered towards the person judged to have done wrong.
Being overly judgmental is warned against in scripture, but it also warns against failing to condemn the crimes and wrongs of others. This is the essence of the proverb. When we see wrongs done and fail to protest or say anything to the wrongdoers, then we are doing wrong ourselves.
Open rebuke is good when done with the right motive and in the right spirit. That is implied in the text. It is also what the scriptures elsewhere teach.
Some will not criticize or reprimand another because they feel that "love" demands that the one say nothing, to overlook the fault or wrong, to not judge. But, this is not love, for love rather "speaks up" and rebukes the ill behavior.
Silence can be a form of acquiescence and approval. Many wrongdoers have said to others (parents, friends, etc.) "you never said a word to me" in regard to the bad behavior.
Give me the person who will confront me face to face with my wrongdoings and who will, in love and yet sternly tell me of my wrongs rather than the one who forms a judgment of my wrongs and then goes around telling others of my wrongs! Give me the open rebuker over the "backstabber"!
What is meant by "secret (or hidden) love"?
It is the opposite of "open rebuke." Love for another cannot be silent, hidden, or unrevealed when that other person is involved in acts that are criminal or immoral. Love must condemn the wrongful acts and seek the correction of the wrongdoer. So, by "secret love" we may understand a "silent love," a love that never makes a judgment, a love that never rebukes the evil doer, that never uncovers wrongdoing, a love that never says anything against the wickedness of the wicked.
It is in every way "better" to rebuke face to face those who do wrong, for the good of all, than to say nothing, or to judge no one in anything. Love will not keep silent. Love will not overlook sin. Love will rather rebuke and correct.
P.S. For an entry on rebuking, see my posting Rebuke Them Sharply.
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