I'm not directing this at anyone, I was just thinking about something. I've defended people before on the basis that I'm sure their heart was in the right place. I'm sure they had the best intentions. But neither of those things make the wounds any less painful.
Caring about someone and meaning well does not excuse poor behavior. And the behavior may not be obviously bad. It might be good behavior, but inappropriate for the situation or the timing.
Sometimes, no matter how good our intentions are, the best action is to simply keep our mouths shut. Sometimes it may be the opposite. We may desire to keep quite out of respect, but perhaps the silence would come across as unconcern. Sometimes it may be the exact thing that comes to mind, another time it might be something we wouldn't have thought of on our own.
How can we ever know the right thing to do? We have to constantly be receptive to the Spirit's guidance and be in prayer when dealing with one another. Particularly in delicate situations.
I'm sure that I have, with good intentions, hurt people before. We tend to think we know the best thing to say and honestly, we don't. Without God's wisdom we know nothing.
Stepping down from my soapbox now.
