When a problem is concealed and not dealt with it tends to compound and become worse. For example, say you have a child who doesn't take school seriously and who studies infrequently. If you don't deal with that problem, it will likely get worse because your child will fall further behind in school. However, if you confront the problem—though it certainly won't be easy to confront—then you will likely prevent that problem from causing more and bigger problems in the future.
There are times when confronting others might inconvenience you, but not confronting them will only invite much bigger problems later. Permit yourself some inconvenience now in order to resolve problems before they worsen. Do not allow problems to multiply because you're afraid to confront.
Likewise, if someone sins against you, you should not simply ignore what happened because doing so could cause the problem to escalate. Instead, Jesus says you should confront the problem: "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over" (Matthew 18:14).
In situations where it's really challenging to deal with a problem, it may take more love to confront someone and tell them the truth—even though it hurts—than it does to simply pretend nothing is wrong. In other words, it may be easier to let the problem slide, but to do so is not love.
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