For many people, vulnerability is scary.
For them, vulnerability means making oneself an easy target for ridicule, rejection, and even abuse. Which is why vulnerability in religious contexts feels very risky.
And from experience and observation, this risk is real. I was always encouraged to be vulnerable and transparent.
Confession, for example, was lauded as the best way to ensure one’s personal spiritual health and secure one's place in the community.
But, soon, we discovered that this also meant people knew our weaknesses and our struggles, including those in leadership. We trusted people with personal information. Delicate and possibly damaging personal information!
For many of us, this trust was betrayed when our struggles were weaponized and used against us.
I believe in vulnerability. I try to practice it myself.
But I have learned that I need to be careful where I am vulnerable, and with whom, and to what extent. Even though religion taught me about vulnerability, it used it against me.
Now, I use what I learned about vulnerability but practice it wisely.
Was your vulnerability betrayed?
