DEFINITION:
You might have heard the term, “One bitten, twice shy” (or “One burned, twice shy”). This phrase is regarding when something or someone has hurt you once, you tend to avoid that thing or person. it is something that you say which means when you have had an unpleasant experience you are much more careful to avoid similar experiences in the future.
A spin on that expression in polemics is “Once wrong, twice angry.” There is a phenomenon of human nature when one is provenly, demonstrably wrong about something, to get angrier at the one who was right, rather than to be contrite and admit their own error. When the source is mentioned in the future, they still hold anger and resentment toward the correct party in that previous argument, and in fact, are even angrier than they were before they were proven wrong (hence, “twice angry”).
AN UNWILLINGNESS TO ADMIT ERROR, AND ANGER DUE TO BEING WRONG
Instead of repentance (or admitting error, if it’s not a matter of sin), it is a natural (and wrong) reaction to just get angry.
Proverbs 12:16 says, “A fool’s wrath is presently known: but a prudent man covereth shame.”
Often times, those who are proven demonstrably wrong about a discernment matter will then spend great time and effort trying to find anything wrong – not matter how small an issue – that the discernment ministry may say or write about, trying to “settle the score.” For the rest of time, so it seems, some people will be the perceive ministry of discernment instead of just humbly accepting that they were wrong about a particular matter.
