Skip to main content

Why do we argue?

Since my stroke, I have more and more instances of being misundersood. It could be by me wife, it could be by my secretary, it could be in church; I know what I want to say, and I think I am saying things clearly, but people don't know what I am talking about. Sometimes it is because I think of something, then say it assuming everyone knows what I am talking about. The problem is that they don't know what I was thinking. Sometimes it is because I think I know what someone else is talking about, so I respond, only to find out that wht they are talking about and what I had heard are two different things. The truth is, it is irritating. Not so much (I hope) for the people who I talk with, but it is really irritating for me. I want everyone to understand me perfectly the first time. At times, I even argue the point, even though most times it is because the other people don't know what I am saying. It reminds me of what Paul told the Corinthian church. In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul is talking about believers who go to law against each other, but the application can be made in this point: Why do we argue so  much? Paul said "Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather [let yourselves] be cheated?" Now, I realize that for most people it goes against everything we believe in to accept the fact that we might be wrong, but let me ask this: Will the world cease rotating on its axis if you are not right in this one occassion? If not, why argue? Why not accept the fact you might be wrong (if you are not, then no one needs to know that except you). The truth is that the name of Christ is diminshed every time we let someone else lead us into a confrontation. Why not accept the wrong so that Christ's name can be lifted up? What is more important?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A stroke survivor's memory is tricky sometimes...

Tomorrow I will preach the funeral for a dear friend of mine. He was the definition of a selfless person. I truly appreciated all that he did, but, when I was meeting with the family on Wednesday a memory came to me suddenly and I was suddenly overcome with emotion. Let me back up a little bit: After my stroke in December, 2008 my license was revoked for obvious reasons and it took me some time and practice before I was able to drive again. I finally got my license back in February, 2009. But, shortly after I got my license back the reality of the severity of my stroke became evident: my stroke had seriously impacted the PONS area of my brain stem, and therefore, a lot of my nerves were negatively impacted. One of the nerves that was damaged was the nerve that controls my eye movements; my left eye would would twitch, at times almost uncontrollably, and that made it really difficult to drive, particularly at night. That brings me to the memory that left me so emotional. Fast forwar
1 comment
Read more

Making a BIG, but somewhat hurtful, decision...

A few years ago I was presented with the opportunity to come back to Stratford, Iowa, to First Baptist church, as their pastor; for those of you who have followed this blog for some time, FBC in Stratford was my first pastorate. Let's just say I prayed about it as I was jumping at the opportunity. The church has a parsonage, so I could live there and not have to worry about a houe payment; and I needed to slow down, and this was a part time position (which, as a side note, allowed for me to get a greater disability from the VA than when I was working full time with St. Croix Hospice...) We love Stratford, and absolutely love the church; the people are wonderful and accepted us, again, with open arms. This was, for me, the perfect position: I get to pastor a church I LOVE, I get to do life with people I LOVE, and I have already had the opportunity to do weddings and baptism services for kids (adults now) that I have known their entire lives. IT IS GREAT. The longer I have been here,
Post a Comment
Read more

What's it like to live in the brain of a stroke survivor???

First , quit calling us a "victim of a stroke", we are survivors of a stroke; the majority of us have found a way to live, as one professor said, not under our circumstance but above our circumstance! For many of us, we are some of the funniest, loving people you will ever meet. Second , don't expect us to be able to multi-task easily. If a football player tears his ACL, no one expects him to be on the field playing at a high level the next week; most who have suffered a torn ACL never play at a high level again. If a skier breaks his leg, no one expects him to be on the slopes the next week, skiing for gold; most who have broken their leg will never ski at a high level again. If a pitcher has to have Tommy John surgery, no one expects him to be on the mound pitching in game 7 of the World Series the next week; most who have had Tommy John surgery will never pitch at a high level again. What do all of thes have in common? A muscle, tendon or bone was severely injured, a
Post a Comment
Read more