i have to admit, on first read, this chapter seems (in my opinion) to contradict the chapter about accountability… i suppose there are some subtle differences here, but i’d say that the two in combination put friends in a difficult position…

before that, however, it builds nicely off of the Suffering chapter, with a personal account of a time of suffering… and a Job-like situation where someone confronted him, accusing him of hiding a sin which had in turn caused the situation…

so here’s the thing, though, David encourages us to never miss an opportunity to just shut up… and not confront one another… that seems to go against the policy of accountability… and i’ve been in that situation myself, where a good friend has made some really bad choices and it’s a very fine balance of knowing how to show support while at the same time pointing out that some things could’ve been done differently to avoid this predicament…

i’m all for being a good friend and standing by offering a shoulder for support or encouragement, but there’s more to being a friend than that… it is all about balance and i guess i’ll leave it at that…

peace… love… bdg…