You Can Be Right and Still Be Wrong

I could feel my face begin to turn red. My hands felt sweaty and got a little shaky. My voice was on edge and words just kept coming out of my mouth. I could feel the sound of my voice getting louder and people in the room beginning to stop what they were doing to look at what I was doing. It wasn't my proudest moment. I wish it was simply "a" moment. Sadly, I have had too many "moments" where I was attempting to help someone see the truth...at least the way I saw it. Have you been there? You know you are right and the conversation has heated up because now you have to prove you are right. It had long shifted away from a respectful dialogue now to a need to win at all cost. I find myself getting "sucked into" this mode more than I care to admit. Yet, James tells his readers that this is not the way to communicate God's truth. James wants us to know how to be wise in the way we treat one another--that being righteous is more important than being right. Perhaps, this may be a root cause in some of the relational tension you may be feeling in your marriage, with your co-worker, friends, neighbors or family. We want everyone to agree with us...to do it our way...to be a clone of us. If we could just get everyone to understand, then all will be well in our world. Really?I hope you continue with us in our ongoing look at this letter, penned by the brother of Jesus more than a few years ago. Surprisingly, it reads as though the ink might still be wet. I hope you can sit with us this weekend and join other friends and family as they do the same.