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Words are definitely sharper and more bitter! And we all know that. We have very well experienced, rather I should say lived those moments. Reality is harsh, yes it is! The mistakes can give wounds inside you. But they would heal, they are mistakes after all , aren’t they? Had it not been confessed by you to yourself of course, it would not have been a mistake at all. So this argument is just to drive home the point that when a person has the courage to accept it, he is the major sufferer in the real sense. What remains to be seen is whether that suffering is self-indicted or is the weight of blatant and countless accusations leveled against that person by the other ‘sufferers’ so to say.
A heart that has already suffered at the hands of self-indictment, would be pained and pierced beyond repair and easy recovery to normal with the stones thrown at by the accusations. Words are unforgettable, the sweetest and the bitterest both.
There's one more thing that adds to the suffering is when the person you expect to be your anchor in times of need, is the one who joins the bandwagon of the accusers. That person will be the one whose words will be the harshest since you know that he/she actually knows you and not just recognizes you like the rest of the crowd out there.
When we turn towards the Bible, “We know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, proven character; and . . .” (Rom. 5:3-4). “Knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect (mature) and complete, lacking in nothing” (Jam. 1:3-4). But it takes time. Suffering, we might say, is a process of purification.