February 8, 2008

How much value is there to being right? And how can one be sure that what one believes to be true, truly is?

I pulled out a question from our box at church asking something similar. And since I’m preaching in response to questions in the box, I’ve been thinking. I’ve been observing. I’ve been drawing conclusions.

You know the situation of seeing what’s on your mind? Like shopping for clothing or cars and then noticing how many other people like what you like? We just pay attention to what’s on our mind. That’s why it’s so crucial to discipline our thoughts.

The verbal exchange (OK, it was more like a fight) I observed this week between two drivers in town is a case in point. I saw driver one backing out of the parking lot. I heard the driver two honk. I saw the driver one continue backing up. I heard the two cars connect.

Driver two was ‘right’. At least she had the right of way. But as soon as she got out of the car, she forgot about being ‘right’. At least being right ceased to be the most important part of her life. Instead of proceeding to get the appropriate contact and insurance information, she first told driver one what she thought of him in very loud and colorful language.

At this point I and most of the others who were in the area found reason to distance ourselves from this altercation.

Driver one seems oblivious to the implications of being right. True, she now had to deal with issues not originally on her schedule. And yes, the car could have been borrowed, or any number of other scenarios that made it easy for her to be emotional about the situation. She could have been scared.

But in her response, she lost the advantage of being right. It’s easy for us to do the same with Bible doctrine. By the way we respond in a time of stress or confrontation, we lose any advantage being ‘right’ might have given us. Maybe being like Jesus is a higher virtue.

“Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” Romans 7:24-8:1

With full commitment,
Pastor Steve