I am encountering more and more scenarios where someone is told the truth about themselves, and they run away.
This is so common that I’m sure you have witnessed this sort of thing. It’s widespread… when people are told the truth about themselves, they claim that they are being mistreated and they cancel the person who told them the truth.
I see a lot of parents doing this to their adult children, and I see a number of adult children doing this to their parents; and I see quite a few longstanding friendships ending. There is a chronic and conspicuous absence of endurance and empathy, to say nothing of the miraculous scenario where someone actually embraces exposures and repents for being wrong!
In light of this predominant reaction to personal confrontation I would like to reimagine a scene in the Gospel of John.
Once upon a time there was a promiscuous woman. This woman had ruined five marriages, and she was currently curating a sixth. This woman DID NOT want to be confronted! In fact, she structured her entire life in such a way so as to avoid people at all costs. Then one day, God showed up and called her out.
[PAUSE]
Even if God’s intention isn’t to condemn this woman, HOW is she not going to feel condemned? Being confronted will invariably strike a nerve, and trigger deep-seated fears. The truth hurts!
…So how MIGHT this lady respond?
It honestly seems like the standard response nowadays would be, “How dare you say that to me!” Followed by the lady running away (as possibly filing charges against Jesus for invading her privacy and spiritual abuse).
It would be ABSOLUTELY SHOCKING if the woman embraced this invasive, intensely exposing, confrontation! And it would be unfathomable if she invited everyone she knew to come and meet the guy who confronted her – so that they could joyfully experience the same intensely intrusive exposure as she did! And it would be beyond unfathomable if people actually embraced her invitation to be so personally and painfully invaded by The Truth!
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