If everybody was like me, the world would be perfect!
Bet that title grabbed your eye! But isn’t that the way we all feel? If our families would just listen to us, do what we say/recommend/order, then life would be so much easier!
At work, if the bigwigs would take two minutes to talk to us, we could tell them how to fix the business in half the work hours… at double the pay.
Even though we know we are flawed, we humans are egocentric. I continue to be convinced that if I could sit down with all the world leaders, I could have them drinking tea and eating cookies together within minutes.
We always assume that if someone disagrees with us, they just don’t get it.
On a more basic, Christian level, I cringe when I hear someone say that they believe something to be true, when I believe just the opposite. You want to get a loud discussion going? Bring up tithing! Seldom will you ever put two Christians in the same room and have them agree about that topic!
I have friends that drive me mad. They will make bold statements about what they believe God means in some portion of the Bible. I will hold the opposite opinion and, after explaining my point of view, if they don’t agree I just naturally assume that they are insane!
Boy, don’t I have a lofty opinion of myself…
But as I have grown older and wiser (I hope), I have begun to figure out one thing. Disagreement is healthy. As long as we don’t let the discussions devolve into divisiveness, boisterous disagreements can actually help you define your beliefs and grow in faith. After all, if you can’t defend your point, how do you know that you are correct? Because no one has it all right. Scholars have been going over the Bible for centuries and still disagree about certain meanings and parables.
My dad used to drive me crazy. If I said I liked something, he would take the opposite side and argue. If I switched and agreed with him, he would switch and start arguing again. Years later, I figured out he helped me develop my ability to defend my point, while still being open to the opposing viewpoint. I’m not always good at it. In fact, there are days I am pretty awful. But I’m working on it.
The upshot is, don’t let arguments over theology divide you from your brothers and sisters in Christ. Have respectful disagreements. Agree to disagree, as they say. But at the end of the day remember: We all have the same Father, and one day He will sit us down and explain it all to us.
July 27th, 2008 at 7:46 am
That is a good attitude
May 26th, 2010 at 8:37 pm
Bet that title grabbed your eye! But isn’t that the way we all feel? If our families would just listen to us, do what we say/recommend/order, then life would be so much easier!