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
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Judgments are prepared forย scoffers,ย And blows for the back of fools.ย
Proverbs 19:29
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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.
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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:
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Define a clear standard or boundary for the narcissist
Explain to the narcissist a clear consequence (“judgment”) if the standard or boundary is violated
Clearly and consistently execute the consequence if or when the standard is violated
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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.
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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.
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Please see Putting “Biblical Perspectives On Narcissism” Into Perspective for an overview of what this blog is all about
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See here for initial steps on how to know God personally
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.
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