Don’t Keep Rescuing Someone — Let Them Face Consequences

Allowing someone to suffer logical consequences is another way of getting them to realize their need for grace. Ideally, we can do that by confronting them, have a difficult conversation and hope they have a willingness to face reality. But sometimes people cannot (or do not) hear the truth of confrontation, and they remain stuck. At those times we often have to allow reality to touch their lives.

Too often in our lives, we protect people from the harsh realities of logical consequences that would force them to see their need for grace and what it can provide. Either we feel sorry for them and bail them out, or we fear them and try to appease them. No matter what the person’s plight, we must help him face the truth. And sometimes that means letting him deal with harsh realities.

This isn’t necessarily about discipline and correction, but how it’s important to see that sometimes our “helping” may keep others from experiencing the tough realities that will ultimately lead them to the grace they need. It’s the old idea of letting people “hit bottom.” It may mean letting them lose a job, or lose a relationship, or lose a membership in a group or a fellowship.

Reality consequences are used in our lives to get us to see our need for grace and to help us learn what is available for us to help ourselves. Those of us in positions of helping others grow must have the courage to allow people to experience those consequences or else we may be keeping them from grace.

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