Dealing With Narcissists – Boundaries and Consequences, Not Rebukes

.

He who corrects a scoffer gets dishonor for himself, And he who reproves a wicked man getsย insults for himself. Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you, Reprove a wise man and he will love you.ย 

Proverbs 9:7-8

.

Judgments are prepared forย scoffers,ย And blows for the back of fools.ย 

Proverbs 19:29

.
As we saw in a previous blog, if you rebuke a scoffer (aka narcissist) he will simply try to “trash” you in order to totally discount your validity and therefore the validity of what you’re saying. ย  ย They do this to make sure that they can stay on the pedestal which they have created for themselves. . So what can you do? ย Even though they may not respect you, they may respect (or alternatively, try to avoid) enforceable boundaries. ย  “Preparing Judgments” implies setting up consequences for violations of some clear standard. ย So, rather than reproving a narcissist / scoffer, try the following: .
  1. Define a clear standard or boundary for the narcissist
  2. Explain to the narcissist a clear consequence (“judgment”) if the standard or boundary is violated
  3. Clearly and consistently execute the consequence if or when the standard is violated
. The narcissist will likely test this a few times to see if you’re serious. ย But if you consistently apply it, and if the consequence or “judgment” is painful enough, the narcissist will learn over time to avoid triggering the consequence. . It is important to understand this is one possible tool to use in dealing with narcissists, and how you apply it will depend on the situation and the relationship. . Please see Putting “Biblical Perspectives On Narcissism” Into Perspective for an overview of what this blog is all about . See here for initial steps on how to know God personally  

When Love Says No - a 30-day devotional journey through biblical boundaries by D.C. Robertsson

If I Say No, Am I Failing to Love?

When Love Says No is a 30-day devotional journey through biblical boundaries, for believers in a hard relationship who want to love well without being controlled.

For the full biblical study of narcissism, see The First Will Be Last.

Share