Correction

I don't like to be wrong. I don't like to be corrected. I suspect nobody does.

So maybe I get just a bit annoyed when I try to "do the right thing" so that I can avoid being corrected ... and still screw up ... and run afoul of somebody. And then I get corrected anyhow. Dang it! I wanted to avoid that whole scene. When I ask questions in hopes of doing the job right, in hopes of not being annoying, I may be told, "So, what's the problem? Why not just be corrected? Chill out. Who cares if you botched it?" Uh ... I care. That's who.

But sometimes I understand that mindset much better because I'm on the other end of the correcting. When I have to correct someone else, I just want to throw up my hands in frustration when the response is "Well, I'll just go away then" or "I'll never say anything because I don't know what is okay to say and what is offensive." It doesn't make you a bad person when someone has to say, "Please stop that." It doesn't mean a child is less loved by the parents if the parents must issue a correction. It doesn't mean an employee is in hot water if the boss gives a clearer set of instructions (which may include corrections). When God chastises, it is because He loves, not because He's ticked. Honestly now, we don't really think it would be better for the person in charge to refrain from correcting someone; do we?

Is it really that demeaning for someone to say, "That behavior is going to result in a problem"?