I'm not a Fan of the Phrase
“Wounded People Wound People”
I’ve been hearing it a lot lately. It seems to be a new phrase taken up by many, “Wounded people wound others.”
It just doesn't sit well with me on a lot of different levels. and I wondered why and so I brought it to prayer.
This is what I came up with:
- We are all wounded because we are all human and born with original sin.
- This phrase makes it seem like there is a select group of people who do not have wounds.
- I actually don’t think it is necessarily true. I think we all wound others. I also believe some people who have been wounded are more sensitive NOT to wound others because they know how it feels.
- I think the statement itself wounds and lays a guilt trip on those who may already be suffering.
- It reflects a failure of love on the part of those who supposedly are not wounded.
Which brings me back to #1. We are all sinners, flawed and wounded. We all wound others because of our sinfulness, some intentionally, some not. While it is good to look at and try to heal our wounds through the grace of God it is just as important to forgive and ‘show the mercy shown”.
No one was more wounded than Jesus, who hung on the cross silently and bore His suffering out of love for us. As weak as we all may be, may we all strive through His life in us to do the same so that those wounded come to know His love, and the joy of the Resurrection
