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John 16:1 · World English Bible

John 16:1 Meaning I Have Said These Things to You

I have said these things to you so that you wouldn’t be caused to stumble.

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What does John 16:1 mean?

The mind is told these things in advance so that when resistance comes it will not read the resistance as proof that it took a wrong turn. To be offended here is to stumble, to let the ego's counterattack shake the decision for love, and forewarning is the guard against exactly that.

From the Christian Psychology reading below.

John 16:1 through 2 lenses

The same verse, read by 2 traditions.

CHRISTIAN PSYCHOLOGY

Christian Psychology

The mind is told these things in advance so that when resistance comes it will not read the resistance as proof that it took a wrong turn. To be offended here is to stumble, to let the ego's counterattack shake the decision for love, and forewarning is the guard against exactly that.

A mind that expects the flinch of fear is not undone by it. It has already been shown that opposition is what the world does when love draws near, so the trouble, when it arrives, confirms the path rather than condemning it, and the mind walks on without turning back.

Christian Psychology lensGo deeper in the app

EGO & BEING

Ego v. Being

Preparation keeps resistance from taking hold.

Forewarning removes the shock that makes the ego contract. Knowing what is coming lets you meet it as event rather than catastrophe.

Ego v. Being lensGo deeper in the app

Christian Psychology lens

Live John 16:1 today

  1. When the day goes sideways and you start hearing "this proves I was wrong to try," catch that line and set it aside. Hard is not the same as wrong.
  2. If someone you are trying to be better with is cold to you today, do not read it as the verdict on the whole effort. Keep being decent and let one bad exchange be one bad exchange.
  3. When a project stalls publicly and you feel the pull to quit or to overcorrect, do neither. Take the next small step on the plan you already believed in.

When things get hard, do I read it as a wrong turn, or as part of the road?

The same truth in other traditions

Stoicism · Seneca

Rehearse hardship in advance and it loses its power to ambush you. The unexpected hits hardest, so let nothing be unexpected.

Buddhism · the second arrow

The first arrow is the pain itself; the second is the story that you should not be hurting. Only the second one is optional.

Tao Te Ching

The way forward can look like going backward. Difficulty along the road is not evidence that you took the wrong turn.

Mid-century illustration of Jesus teaching the crowd on a hillside above the sea

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