We—the church—still say foolish things to those who are going through hardships. In response, hurting people still tend to be quick to overlook offenses, under the heading of “well intentioned,” though some comments can veer off from the naïve to the grossly insensitive. Those are harder to overlook. Church can be the most difficult place to go for those whose hardships are public.
Why does this happen, especially when there is so much good literature on the do’s and don’ts of care? There are at least two reasons.