Are you a tester of harm? Or do you avoid it like the plague? Granted, the caveat in this is your ability to stay out of harm, but given the choice… what is your preferred position? Personally I’m a ‘don’t get in harm’s way’ type but if there, don’t run from it like a coward. The reason I chose the particular stance I do is that it is totally impossible to stay out of harm’s way at all times so why court harm.
In this case I’m not referring to physical harm, I’m talking about harm to your personal standard(s). Example: someone you know does something but lies to you about it thus you discover you can’t trust, their integrity has been (verifiably) found lacking. Do you forgive them, move on, and stay in contact? Or do you forgive them, move on, and stay as far away from them as possible?
It probably could be argued that if you choose the latter position you really haven’t forgiven them and it is even questionable that you’ve moved on. But with no contact, you are out of harm’s way – but at what cost to your personal standard, presupposing that forgiveness is high on your personal standards? Even though the other person has not acknowledged their behavior how should you respond? And to add to the issue, being truthful is high on your personal standards list as well as forgiveness.
There is no easy answer to this conundrum, this dilemma. It always reverts to which of your standards has the highest priority. But then, how do you respond to be consistent? How can you maintain both qualities as part of your personal standard? Staying out of harm’s way may not be an option.
