Being right vs being righteous

[dorianleigh]

"Our egos can get us into a lot of trouble by convincing us that we need to be right all the time. We're afraid that conceding the validity of a viewpoint that differs from our own (even if that concession doesn't necessarily mean we are "wrong") will destabilize our very foundation of self-confidence and self-sufficiency. Unless we're intentionally seeking out someone else's opinion, we all too often want nothing to do with other people's ideas. We need to be right, and we need to do things our way. If anyone challenges that, we'll defend our right to be right like a mother bear defends her cubs. We'll fight and argue over tiny points of minutiae just to prove that we're right, whether the topic at hand really matters or not.

God doesn't necessarily want us to always know what's right. He wants us to admit that He knows better than we do and to follow Him with trust and humility. After all, Adam and Eve fell because they ate the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Had they simply followed God, they would not have needed to know the difference between right and wrong because God would have guided them in righteous paths. God also doesn't want us to argue with each other about who's right. He wants us to work together as His servants in the world. Our disagreements frequently distract us from our true mission, and if we put our differences aside we often find that they do not inhibit our ability to do God's work nearly as much as our arguments did. Sometimes there is nothing to gain by arguing about who's right, because such arguments may never be resolved. Some issues are opinions and not facts, interpretations and not provable certainties, and we could spend the rest of our lives debating them. Or we could decide that it doesn't matter whether we're right or wrong so long as we are doing our best to follow God and love our neighbors.

When it comes down to it, I would much rather be an idiot with a kind and trusted master and loving friends than an infallible genius living in isolation. Being right will not necessarily teach us about love, and trusting in ourselves to be right may even lead us away from God. Being righteous means that it's OK if we're not right all the time—we just need to keep God ever before our eyes and continue to care about the people who are working through the right and wrong answers just like us. I think it is much more joyful to be righteous than to be right. "

I copied this from the Internet and it truly resonates in my heart. I can see why the Lord says that self righteousness (our flesh needing to be right, or being one up on someone) is as filthy rags! The only One who is always righteous (right) lives inside of every believer so when believers are in agreement, we can know that is His righteousness in us connecting with His righteousness in another believer. Satan loves to divide and conquer and that is how he gains momentum with believers by triggering our need to be right which is craving to be fed by seeking out those same "filthy rags" in another believer. How do we kill this part of our flesh? We starve it to death by refusing to feed it. This is the only way we can truly be "used as instruments of His righteousness through us. What do you think?

[steve]

Hi Dorian,

Glad to have you posting here. This is a good introductory post! There are all kinds of opinions held by the brethren who post here, though, I think you will find that long-term post-ers here have the attitude you commend in your post (occasionally, someone shows up with an ax to grind, and posts a few contentious posts, but they usually go away after they have made their point).

Discussions here express many disagreements on doctrine: Calvinism Vs. Arminianism, Dispensationalism Vs. non-dispensationalism, Catholicism Vs. evangelicalism; different views of the atonement, and of hell, and of many other topics. However, there are not many here who are determined to win an argument at all costs, or who insist upon others agreeing with them. Most of our long-time participants are mature Christians who love the truth and love the brethren, and who relish a robust and cordial exchange of views.

I hope you will browse around the forum and get a sense of the kind of discussions that take place here. You will probably be blessed. Thanks for joining us here!

[Paidion]

I see it pretty much the same way as Steve.

I would add that some of us (who are NOT contentious), still like to express our thinking and justify it with scripture and/or logic, not in order to win arguments, or prove ourselves superior to others, but to seek truth and reality together.

My thinking in Christian matters has undergone dramatic change since I was in my 20s, as a result of studying Greek and early Christian writings. As a result of participating in this forum, I have also fine-tuned my thinking in some areas, and also have developed a better understanding of other people's points of view. I have been here for years, and if it were mere wrangling, I'd soon go. Although there is wrangling and personal attacks on occasion, the vast majority of posts are respectful, with an attitude of learning more from others.

Steve, who initiated this forum, recognizes that others have as much right to their own thinking as he, and he doesn't try to force his thinking on others, but simply expresses and justifies his views by appealing to scripture and rationality. This is quite different from other "Christian" forums where I used to post. If you disagreed with the ideas being pushed on some of these forums you were kicked off, or at least silenced. I now post almost exclusively on this forum and on the Christian Universalist forum. The vast majority in both forums continue to show respect to all who post. It is a great privilege to post on these forums, and doing so facilitates personal growth.

Having said that, I must say that I do agree with you, however, that posting only in order to show that you are right about everything, and superior to others, does nothing for one's spirtual development, hinders others, and is contrary to working righteousness in God's sight. On the other hand, agreeing with our brethren only for the sake of being agreeable, rather than taking a stand in the interests of truth and reality, also does nothing for one's spiritual development, and is contrary to working righteousness in God's sight.