When you are confronted, in a loving way, about an issue in your personal life, do you recieve it as an intrusion or as helpful advice from someone who cares about your well-being?

I’ve recently offered unsolicited marital advice to two different people. Their responses could not have been more different.

1. The first guy received it like a champ. He said he would definitely talk to his wife about it and said he appreciated me caring enough about him to speak into his marriage.
2. The second guy was defensive to say the very least. He quickly got off the phone and I haven’t heard from him since.

I guess I am weird, but I love it when someone confronts me in love. I guess because I know it wasn’t easy and because they cared more about me, than me liking them. They risked something, and because they did, it changed my life for the better.

But I haven’t always liked being confronted in love. This is an acquired skilled that I’m not sure how I acquired. But I think it has something to do with me being okay with being me. I grew up not liking myself very much because key people around me said I shouldn’t. They said in many different ways and times that I was defective, something was wrong with me. Now that I am 43, I realize that I’m not defective, I’m different. I’m not perfect, and my actions and work can frequently have defects. But my God says I’m not defective. He says, I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I guess that is why I’m able to take it when someone confronts me in love. Then again, it hasn’t happened in a while. It might make me feel defective. I hope not.

What about you? Do you have people in your life who speak truth in love into your marriage? How do you receive it?