S
stellatum
Guest
There’s a compulsive liar in my life. When she tells me some dramatic story (for example, of some past ill-treatment), I don’t react with the kind of emotion I would show to someone trustworthy because I can’t tell if the story is true or not. It may be – some of her stories are true – but I’ve been taken in in the past. To react so coldly to a person whose story I didn’t doubt would certainly be a sin against charity. Does “love believes all things” mean that I should give her the benefit of the doubt and respond as if I believed her?
I know that in practical matters I must be prudent, and not act on any information she gives me. But in simple emotional matters, I feel stuck. Either way it seems wrong. If I react with sympathy, indignation, etc., I feel like an idiot, and maybe even dishonest. If I react coldly, I feel cruel. Neither way feels morally clean. What does St. Paul mean, anyway? Thanks. (PS: I have explained to her many times how her history of lying has affected me.)
I know that in practical matters I must be prudent, and not act on any information she gives me. But in simple emotional matters, I feel stuck. Either way it seems wrong. If I react with sympathy, indignation, etc., I feel like an idiot, and maybe even dishonest. If I react coldly, I feel cruel. Neither way feels morally clean. What does St. Paul mean, anyway? Thanks. (PS: I have explained to her many times how her history of lying has affected me.)