Being right

1 Peter 5:1-5New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Now as an elder myself and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory to be revealed, I exhort the elders among you to tend the flock of God that is in your charge, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion but willingly, as God would have you do it—not for sordid gain but eagerly. Do not lord it over those in your charge, but be examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd appears, you will win the crown of glory that never fades away. In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you must clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

One of the prayers I've tried to consciously add to my litany lately is "Lord, save me from being right."

Being right is as addictive as sugar and coffee and alcohol and drugs.  Being right fuels something in me that makes me, well, not the me I think God has called me to be.  Being right makes me want to be right again.  And again.  It can make me dig my heels in and believe I'm right even when I'm not.

And when someone is convinced they are right over and over and over again, eventually it means that others around that person aren't right.  How can we both be right?

It makes it easy to lord it over someone.

The truth I am finding more and more is that if I'm honest with myself, looking back over my life, it is the times I have been wrong that have formed me.  It is being wrong and teaches and opens me up to new possibilities.  We learn and grow from our mistakes, as uncomfortable and unpleasant as that can be.  But the more times we are convinced we are right, the harder I believe it is to admit when we are wrong and then to grow.

God wants us to grow and learn.  Not just as a child, but for our whole life long.

Unfortunately we don't live in a world that likes things that are wrong.  Pressure mounts from all sides to be right.  From religion to politics to art to families, we get messages 24/7 that tell us there is a right way to do things and a wrong way to do things.  That you are either "with me or you are against me."

Make sure you aren't doing it the wrong way!  Make sure you know that your ideals are the correct ones and "they" are wrong and you've got to prove them wrong over and over and over.

Being right is addicting and our world has I believe given in to the addiction.

And it's made us proud.

Yet God tells us there is another way.  Be humble.  Approach others with humility and love. 

Learn.  Grow.  Accept when you are wrong.

You don't need to be right.  I don't need to be right.  It damages relationships and community when we all believe we are right.

Clothe yourself in humility when dealing with each other for it is in that that true glory - and blessing - can abound.

Lord, save me from being right.  Amen.