I have a ministry partner whose personality is very straight-forward, which I love about her most of the time, but it tends to offend people a lot and cause hurt feelings. Once, she hurt someone's feelings enough that the injured party went to the pastor to complain about it. (The injured party, however, is someone who kind of gets offended easily.) The pastor went to talk to the offending party, who said,
"This is just how I am. I say it like it is. It's nothing personal. I can't help how she takes things. She needs to have a thicker skin."
The offended party's response was,
"If someone is hurting people with their words, they need to change the way they are. They need to speak in a more sensitive way."
I, being completely neutral in the situation, felt that both sides had a valid point. One needs to try harder NOT to be offended. But the other needs to make an effort to say things in a way that won't offend. They both were responsible for the way things had gone. However, neither of them felt that there was anything wrong with their way of thinking.
What do you think? Can you relate to either side?
"This is just how I am. I say it like it is. It's nothing personal. I can't help how she takes things. She needs to have a thicker skin."
The offended party's response was,
"If someone is hurting people with their words, they need to change the way they are. They need to speak in a more sensitive way."
I, being completely neutral in the situation, felt that both sides had a valid point. One needs to try harder NOT to be offended. But the other needs to make an effort to say things in a way that won't offend. They both were responsible for the way things had gone. However, neither of them felt that there was anything wrong with their way of thinking.
What do you think? Can you relate to either side?
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