I think we’re called to witness for Christ in whatever situation we find ourselves. Of prime importance must be the love and respect we bear others. The short of it is we wish to help, not hurt, others. But this is not an easy thing to do and often requires considerable skill. The blunt truth can crush a fragile soul and the shaded truth can be oblivious to a headstrong one. Thus we must modulate our behavior to be most helpful at any given juncture. Now we have to admit that no mere mortal is very good at this. When we fancy ourselves too savvy for words, we do the most damage of all. When we telegraph to others that we think they are not up to the truth and we must “handle them” (read “manipulate them”), then we’ve committed the profoundest insult and greatest hurt of all. Sometimes the boisterous ruffian is 100 times more compassionate than the fine-tuned connoisseur of manners.
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