I love to argue. I don’t mean yelling to prove my point. I mean sitting down and talking ’til we figure things out. It’s one of those things that I know might annoy others, but that I love about myself.
Have you heard that John Mayer song “Heartbreak Warfare”?
I don’t care if we don’t sleep at all tonight
Let’s just fix this whole thing now
That’s me, every.single.day.of.my.life. Don’t believe me? ask any of my two sisters.
I say the reason why I love talking things through is because I am a talker and a listener, but deep down I know it’s mainly because I love winning arguments. I’m not a bad loser; I’m just a far better winner.
So, I plan each conversation carefully. I know exactly what I’m going to say. I imagine the ways in which the other person could respond. I envision myself listening to the other party, getting my arguments across, being understood, winning the discussion, and getting major points for being the one who tried to solve the problem in the first place.
In a parallel universe, God would be proud of me doing all the right things for all the wrong reasons. But, in this universe, I see that at the core of my amazing problem solving abilities is pride.
Pride is…
Making sure I’m not treated unfairly.
Always wanting the last word.
Winning each and every argument.
Defending my stance to death.
Mark 14: 60-61a:
[After many false witnesses had spoken against Jesus] Then the high priest stood up before the others and asked Jesus, “Well, aren’t you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself?” But Jesus was silent and made no reply.
What? Why didn’t he say anything? He knew he was right. He should’ve proved his point!
He had the exact opposite reaction to how I’d react. He was silent, he didn’t defend his pride.
He knew he was right and that in the end justice would win.
I should learn from him.
Are you like me? Is your favorite sentence also “I’m right, you’re wrong.” ?
or… Are you annoyed by people like me?
Why else do you think Jesus kept silent when he could’ve spoken up?
