Thursday; October 5

Something has happened to our ability to disagree – we have become disagreeable. Maybe I just thought it used to be this way, but I seem to recall times and places where we could share conflicting thoughts and ideas with respect and, if we were fortunate, we might even learn something from someone else. We (willingly) exposed ourselves to different ways of thinking so we might be able to become more well rounded in our own thought processes. We didn’t enter into a debate to merely “win” it, but to exchange ideas.

Again, maybe that didn’t really exist, but I’d like to think that sometime, somewhere it did and hopefully it is still practiced. It has become popular to grow louder and more incensed when we sense disagreement. It’s almost like we get style points for being obnoxious. However, I don’t know many people who have moved to the other side of an argument just because the person on the other side was meaner and nastier that we were. In fact, if anything, we are more turned off by issue-based blindness and become more tuned out the louder the other person gets.

While this might be prevalent today, it is nothing new to this generation. The wise man of the Old Testament warned, “A fool does not delight in understanding. But only in revealing his own mind.” (Proverbs 18:2). Let’s not fool ourselves into believing we can win an argument by pointing and yelling. Let’s keep in mind another proverb, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” (Proverbs 15:1)

Think About It!

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