Sit Down, Be Quiet and Be Changed by God

I don’t always suffer from tunnel vision but sometimes I can be stubborn. I can just see my wife’s reaction to that statement; the infamous eye roll followed by an incredulous “Sometimes?” So alright, I will own it, I am mostly stubborn most of the time. Being hard headed isn’t necessarily bad, there have been times when it has served me well.  Having raised seven children, you better have a stiff spine and the ability to stick to your guns, otherwise the health and well-being of the brood can suffer numerous and far reaching consequences. I mean when you’re right you’re right, right?

There are those other times though where my insistence on being right and letting everyone within earshot know that it’s my way or the highway has cost me scars to my ego and more tragically damage to important relationships. I looked up the definition of “Stubborn” and it says “Having or showing dogged determination NOT to change one’s attitude or position on something, especially in spite of good arguments or reasons to do so.” Dogged determination is a good thing, a quality that us Americans highly value, so no need to apologize for that attribute, but the inability to being able to admit that one is wrong, even in light of overwhelming evidences is in a word, moronic.

In this introspective moment, I need to ask myself “Do I approach my conversations with God and prayer with hardness of heart and an insistence that it is my will be done, or am I able to open myself with His grace to let go of false notions and petty pride and to learn new and better ways of understanding and living in relationship with Him and with others.” A little humbleness and piety can go a long way in building a loving dependence on Christ and the life giving relationships with people around me. My need to know doesn’t supersede God’s will to lead me down unknown paths. My need to control the outcome never overrules God’s infinite desire to remake me in His Divine Image, to break me of my selfish pride and to take my heart of stone and turn it into a heart of flesh, able to love others as well as God and myself.

 I think it is safe to say that it is better to be loved than it is to be right.