Let’s Argue!

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Arguing just to be right is pointless. Arguing for what’s right is important. How we do it, though, is critical.

I tweeted these words a few days ago.

I had been in a ‘discussion’ with someone that had been going on for a few days… yeah, a few days.

Finally, I had had enough. The truth was, neither of us was probably completely right. We both probably had only a partial understanding of what we were discussing. We could have argued for days. It really would’ve had no bearing on anything if I would have ‘won’ the argument. So, I just quit.

You see, as Christians, we’re often good at arguing to be right.

Sure, we camouflage it as arguing important doctrine or arguing for biblical accuracy, but many times, I’m afraid we just want to prove that we’re right.

We do it in our relationships too. I can’t tell you how many times my wife and I have been arguing and I realizeD 2 minutes in that it WAS pointless and not worth the arguing time. Instead of just saying that it’s a waste of time or apologizing, I continued to argue. Why?

Because I’m determined to prove I’m right… I’m prideful enough that it’s worth the pain to prove it… at least in that moment.

On the other hand, there are certainly times where we have to stand for what we believe in. Ask anyone that knows me and they’ll tell you that if you touch something i’m passionate about and that is valuable, I’ll fight over it.

How you and I fight over those important things is important. You see, I’m afraid that we as the Church have been fighting over the important things all wrong as well. Instead of arguing from a place of love and grace, we come from a place of condemnation and hate. Instead of gently convincing someone of Christ’s love, we beat them with their own sin.

What we argue about is important.

How we argue is critical.

Am I arguing over the right stuff?
Are you?

Your thoughts?


Comments

7 responses to “Let’s Argue!”

  1. It’s amazing how on point you are here. Arguing to prove your right is a waste of time, though we all do it…with a lot of people…We need to spend more time working together in things and less time trying to prove ourselves to each other.

    1. I completely agree. It’s much easier said than done, but if we all did it more often, it’d make a huge difference. Thanks for reading and sharing, Joel.

  2. Kenneth Browning Avatar
    Kenneth Browning

    Christ with that person but for me i think that building that relationship is important first. Before trying to speak to them about what Jesus Christ has done for me, do you have any suggestions about what to do?

    1. I think you’ve got it, man. With people outside the faith, you’re spot on. With those inside, I’m afraid we often argue about some petty things that just aren’t that important. Regardless of who we’re talking to, how we talk to them is important.

  3. I found your post in the Authentic Bloggers Group on Facebook. I left a comment there. I probably should have posted it here. (It’s Monday.) Anyway, I’m following a couple of your boards on Pinterest. I like quotes and I like blogs. I don’t like arguing. I come from a big family and God blessed me to have a big family and I have endured more than enough unnecessary argument over friggin’ stupidity to last for seven lifetimes! You don’t have convince about pointless grumbling and complaining and dumb stuff! :) <3

  4. Just to put a case study forward here, the recent demonstrations of Muslims around the w

  5. Just to put a case study forward here, the recent demonstrations of Muslims around the world could be an example. In what ways are they demonstrating their faithfulness to what they believe and in what ways are they violating what they believe? We have the same struggles when we begin to argue. And when one speaks to Muslims it becomes clear that the way Christians resolve (or don’t resolve) conflict is something that they see and becomes part of our testimony. We say we believe certain things (about loving enemies and unity) but are those the things people see when we disagree with someone, inside or outside our community?

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