Monday; March 8

“What are you going to get out of this fight other than a black eye?”. Several years ago my wife, Jeane, was cautioned about getting involved in a conflict and since that time this has become one of her (and my) favorite bits of wisdom. Now, let’s stop here for a second and say that there are times and issues that are worth the fight – but, in reality, there are a lot more that aren’t. In fact, with too many issues, the only things we can expect to gain by picking a fight are a bruised ego, hurt feelings and the mark of a troublemaker. When we are intent on arguing about matters that don’t matter, we are more apt to lose our reputation before we win any influence. Additionally, often when we are strong-willed in picking a fight, not only do we hurt ourselves, we also do damage to our cause and those around us. Specific personal injury might be our choice; but this type of collateral damage over things that aren’t all that important lessen the influence of our cause and may result in people less likely to defend us.
Again, there are some battles we need to wage, but let’s be cautious that whenever we take up the gauntlet, we have virtue and right on our side. When we do, our fight will be noble – when we don’t, about all we can hope for is that our tenacity is noteworthy … and that might not always be an admirable trait.

Think About It!

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