Boys and Girls

Watching a video on Christian relationships, I recalled this particularly bizarre question.

The video was about the rude, hurtful, thoughtless, indeed cruel things that Christians say, thinking they are being 'open', 'honest', 'caring' or some other cloak for their gossip hacking.

I attended a Christians' party with a mate of mine, we were both in our early thirties, both single.

I overheard my pal being asked by a professional acquaintance (I mean we both practiced the same profession) of mine "why aren't you married yet?"

My friend replied that he'd not met the right person.

I knew the real story, and that it hurt, because he left early, ashamed.

He'd had a very bad experience with a Christian woman and had lost all confidence with women. He was just coming alive again to his desire for a female companion and this stupid, intrusive, rude, thoughtless question dashed his confidence and made him feel unwelcome, particularly because his questioner was married, and 'flaunted' his relationship to all and sundry.

Don't ask prying questions. Don't ask questions that dig into people's deep personal life unless you've earned the right by being first as open as you expect the other to be.