It is always easier to be an “againster” than it is to be a booster, easier to point out errors than to affirm what is good. Tearing things down can be very energizing, and it’s easy to gather a following of equally energized people out to right what is wrong. The problem is, it’s easy to become selfrighteous (which is itself a wrong) and overstate our case, tearing down people in the process. It’s easy to censure those who dissent from our views and discredit those with whom we disagree. This pattern demonstrates insecurity and immaturity in life. Certainly, we need to be courageous and stand up for the truth without compromise. But we shouldn do so charitably with love and compassion, not maliciousness and self rightousness. It can be challenging to do so, It would be easy to take negetiveity personally. Sometimes I find my own responses getting a bit caustic, after all... “A soft answer turns away wrath. . . .” (Proverbs 15:12). It is human nature to respond “in kind”: to meet wrath with wrath, and sarcasm with more of the same. An “agreeable disagreement” is to care more for the person you are disagreeing with than you do about your own image or about winning the argument. After all... are people are more important than polemics. It is possible to win an argument, yet lose the person. A better response might be to ask the disagreeable person, “Why are you so angry?” By provoking people to selfexamination, it’s possible to engage with them on a deeper and potentially more vengeful level. Difficult it is to stop, chill-out, and reconvene for a real conversation rather than a one-sided rant. The purpose of an “agreeable disagreement” is to shine the light of truth. If we are concerned about truth because it is beautiful and good, we will not wield it as a sword to slash our opponents into submission. Rather, we can offer truth humbly, as something of great value, and avoid becoming disagreeable in our disagreements. Truth stands on its own merits. It does not require our forceful pronouncements or rhetorical flourishes to win the day. People may disagree with the truth, and they may even find the truth disagreeable, as it sometimes exposes attitudes and actions in ourselves. But we should guard against making the truth unnecessarily disagreeable by tainting it with a prideful, callous or defensive delivery. “Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53:12)
Posted on: Thu, 01 Jan 2015 21:59:30 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015