When Being Right Can Be Wrong
Throughout each of our lives, we have more than enough opportunities to prove ourselves right. Chances are, it probably started when you were a little kid. Maybe you were always the kind of student in school who seemed to always have the answer to all the teacher's questions. Or maybe you were constantly pestered by an older sibling you vowed to be better at in as many things as possible.
Throughout life, we all enjoy having the right answer to a question or maybe the right way of doing something. It's pretty natural. Having all the right answers seems to make life simpler and more efficient for us and our families. It may even seem that it is common sense to correct every mistake or mispronunciation of a word or miscalculation of a problem you observe someone else make. You might even think it's your "duty" to do so. However, if you haven't learned the lesson yet, while making these corrections may give you a temporary sense of satisfaction, in the long run, it can bruise or even ruin a relationship with those you love the most.
Maybe you're the type who seems to always have to get the last word in during an argument. In life, there are times when we can win the battle but lose the war. And that's not a great position to be in.
One of the biggest lessons we can learn about how to respond in situations like this is found in the Bible. I love the Apostle Paul's letters and in his letter to the Philippian church, he wrote some grade advice about this very topic. In Philippians 2:3-4, Paul wrote "Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too."
Paul was essentially saying, "Hey. Let it go. Think about the other guy and their feelings before trying to one up them. You don't always have to be right." Closing our mouths is probably one of the best things we can do.
Sometimes keeping our mouths shut can be one of the biggest tasks we can ask of ourselves. But why is it so difficult to just shut up? But, you may think, if I just close my mouth, aren't I losing or inferior? Short answer: NO! Remember this
It's NOT a sign of weakness.
Your identity is NOT found in always having the answers.
It is NOT a requirement for you to retaliate.
The long and short of it is, we simply have to learn to yield. Yielding is not natural. It fights everything in us that ordinarily urges us to be bigger, stronger, faster. Yielding seems like (and is) the antithesis of trying to be "number one". But we, as christians, are urged to, no, required to, yield.
I promise, in the long run, you will discover amazing peace when you start to allow things to just drop. Really; I promise!
