Ezekiel 13-15 Encourage the righteous, Dishearten evil!

September 2nd, Ezekiel 13-15

       Here is the heart of the problem with the false prophetss of the land..."Because you have disheartened the righteous falsely, although I have not grieved them, and you have encouraged the wicked, that he should not turn from his evil way to save his life."
       It's really a great guiding verse for ministry, for parenting, for our interactions with others. Am I disheartening people falsely, grieving people that God doesn't want to grieve? The line used several times is that the false prophet proclaims "declares the Lord" although God hasn't actually spoken. If we're gonna claim it was God's voice, it should be.
       The second great question is How am I encouraging evil and keeping people from saving their lives? My first Youth Pastor gig was with a group of students who were good friends, mildly interested in God and had effectively chased away the kids in church who did love God and were interested in following Him. The negativity of one group drove away the other. I quickly learned that a new paradigm had to be the norm and it was tough strengthen the righteous and stop encouraging the wicked.
       In the end it is a difficult road to walk, and in the name of love we end up doing it wrong. Some questions have great potential for evaluation in our lives and this one rises close to the top. How do we encourage the righteous and dishearten evil?