Recently I've been reading in John Wesley's A Plain Account of Christian Perfection, and while the title may seem odd, Wesley is clear that being filled with perfect love does not create an error free life. He writes in his account, "A man (or woman) may be filled with pure love, and still be liable to mistake. Indeed I do not expect to be freed from actual mistakes till this mortal puts on immortality. I believe this to be a natural consequence of the soul's dwelling in flesh and blood. For we cannot think at all, but by the mediation of those bodily organs, which have suffered equally with the rest of our frame. And hence, we cannot avoid sometimes thinking wrong, till this corruptible puts on incorruption."
In a world today where some demand allegiance to their convictions, and no compromise; it seems to me that they would do well to reacquaint themselves with some of the classic Christian writings like Wesley's writings on Christian perfection for if they did, they might understand the truth behind Paul's statement in Romans 3:10 that .. "no one is righteous." The consequence of our sinful human nature is we sometimes think wrong, and failure to admit such weakness reveals the presumption that we think we are right all the time and all the time we are not right. So, if God's perfect love cannot remove wrong thinking from us, then how much more presumptuous it is to think that we can always be right on our own. It's like saying we have the knowledge of good and evil, but such knowledge belongs only to God. (See the creation stories in Genesis 1 and 2)
While it is easy to talk about this subject on the stage of national politics (what a great temptation that is) the rubber hits the road for most of us in family relationships. Every couple has moments when one is convinced the other is wrong about something. I heard Ralph and Nell Mohney share how they learned to end a conversation in which they held strong opinions that were polar opposites. They would say to each other, "Well, you my be right." Of course, they walked away from that conversation still thinking each other was wrong, but the fact that they were willing to admit the potential of their own wrong thinking kept a certain humility in play that helped them both grow closer over the years. So, the next time you find yourself in a heated discussion, before saying anything you might regret, why not end the conversation with the words, "You may be right." In the very least, it allows you to walk away, so that you can argue another day, but still love.
- Dennis
