Christian Living

---

I would like to share with you something that I learned recently, and from all places, a television show. One evening while flipping through the channels in an attempt to find a show that would not dishonor the Lord; I paused on a scene where a man had just fired his assistant for good reason. The assistant had done something in good faith but it was not what the man had desired nor was it something that he would have ever permitted.

In the scene that followed, the man returned to his home and to the loving arms of his wife. After a short discussion of what had happened during the day the wife informed her husband that he should go quickly and ask the fired assistant to return. The face of the man grew dark and he raised his voice in response to the instruction, "I will not…I was right. She was wrong!"

Then with patience and love in her eyes, the wife touched the man's knee and disarmingly asked him, "Darling, do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?"

From those two scenes I learned an invaluable lesson. In an argument, discussion, or exchange of ideas it doesn't matter if we are right or wrong. It doesn't matter if, in the balance of things, we are in our right to dish out correction or reproof. What will we accomplish in the long run by proving our point? In the end, does it really matter?

Our impulsive need to be "right" and win the argument can be so strong that it blinds us to the harsh and sometimes cruel tactics that we feel, at the time, as necessary and justifiable. But when the battle is won, our victory celebration is short-lived because our wife doesn't want to be around us or our co-workers stop speaking to us. After a while we realize that being the winner isn't all that it's cracked up to be. Sure, we showed them that they were wrong, stupid, uninformed, ignorant, and over all, less than us, but what did they learn? What did we accomplish by winning? Did we create a stronger tie between us and our wives, our co-workers or our family members? At the most we created anger and tension not enlightenment and joy. We may have proved to be the "winner" but the loser is left with battle wounds of resentment and hurt.

So why do we do this? I believe that the fundamental reason is lies in our insecurity. We feel insecure about what we know or what we are doing. So whenever we come across a situation where we are definitely, 100% in-the-right, we jump into the arena and fight our monsters of doubt and fear. But what we later realize is that we weren't fighting and killing monsters, but our own family members and co-workers.

In contrast, have you noticed how Jesus talks to us? Even though He is the Creator of the universe, the Alpha and the Omega, the Lamb that was slain for us— I have never heard Him stand up and prove that He was right and others were wrong. That's because God is love (1 John 4:8) and His plan and purpose is that we love one another (John 13:34). Read through 1 Corinthians 13 again to refresh your memory of what love IS. Nowhere does it say, "Love proves I am right!"

The next time you are in the middle of an argument or debate, ask yourself, "How would Jesus respond?" We know that He always responds with mercy and love and that's our answer. I challenge you to try something different. The next time you believe you are 100% in-the-right, don't try and prove it. Go on and express your idea or point-of-view, but then leave it alone. Remember, it's not about being right or winning. It's about honoring the Lord in your words and actions and loving your neighbor (wife, child, co-worker, etc.) as yourself. As a result your relationships will flourish!

Have fun being His Ambassador,
Gabriel

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE