We all want to be right. We all want to get our point across. We all want other people to agree with us. We all want other people to see their faults. We all want other people to admit they are wrong. We all want things to be like we want them. The problem is that most of the time, things don’t work out how we want them to.

Other people don’t agree with us, they don’t want to see their faults, they don’t admit they are wrong, and they don’t want things the way we do. The dilemma we have then is to decide whether it is worth trying to convince them we are “right.”

This morning, I faced that same dilemma. My husband asked me to go hiking with him in a place he wanted to check out for hunting. I had asked him the day before to hike at the beach, a place I wanted to hike, and he said no because he was too tired. The point I tried to make (forcefully) was that he was willing to do things when it fit his agenda, but not when it fit mine. He didn’t want to admit that. He felt good about the fact that he was asking me to go with him and planning something we could do together and that was all he wanted to see. I pushed harder and got madder and refused to go with him. I knew I was “right,” because my point was valid. He does have a double standard.

After he left, I began to realize that I had paid a price for being “right.” He left without me, we didn’t spend the day together, and I felt horrible. I also had to come to terms with something you may already have thought of: I also was more willing to do things that fit my agenda than his. I struggled for a while with doing what I needed to do—call him and apologize for reacting in a destructive way to a positive effort on his part. He accepted my apology, but didn’t admit my point was valid (and never will).

In hindsight, it wasn’t worth the price I paid for being “right.” It would have been better to let it go and have an enjoyable day. I am going to try to remember that next time I am presented with the opportunity to be right or to be destructive.

By Karla Downing

Relationship Devotional Prayer

 
God,

Help me let go of things that really aren’t that important. Help me let go of the pride that makes me want to prove I am right by making others agree with me.

Relationship Devotional Challenge

• Think before you try to prove you are right.
• Ask yourself if the price you will pay is worth it.
• If it is, then go for it. If it isn’t, drop it.

Scripture Meditation

 
Proverbs 17:14

“Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out” (NIV).

Proverbs 18:17

“The first to present his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him” (NIV).

Proverbs 13:10a

“Pride only breeds quarrels” (NIV).