934) I hate confrontation. In fact, I will do just about anything to avoid it. I don’t think it’s a bad thing to avoid conflict if you cannot settle things in other ways, but when I choose not to confront, I may add more problems on my shoulders.

In John 9, many make the choice to confront others, in multiple ways and some refuse to, as well. In this chapter, on the Sabbath, Jesus heals a man who was born blind. The religious leaders brought this man before the group and they confront him, demanding that he tell them who had healed him (as if they didn’t know). The man’s reply is factual. This man healed me. They next confront the man’s parents and these parents avoid confrontation by deflecting it back to the one born blind. Again, the Pharisees ask the man who had healed him. The man again replies factually. All I know is that once I was blind, but now I see. This ticks them off because they were looking for a way to “catch” Jesus in wrong-doing. The religious leaders allow their confrontation to be steeped in unchecked emotional reactions. Jesus later finds the man he healed, whom the Pharisees had kicked out of the temple, and reveals who he is.

Though I don’t think the major take-away from John 9 is about how to confront people, we can learn about this from this example. Sometimes confrontation is necessary. The best tool to use is being factual, rather than emotional. The downside to confrontation is that we cannot control how someone else receives it but, the good news and hard news is, that is their choice.