In fact, to have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded?
I admit, I like to be right. At least I like proclaim I’m right when my rightness has been questioned, especially if I really am right. Equally, I’m quick to admit I was not right, acknowledging I was wrong. Part of this I believe is a hazard of my composition. By all personality test accounts, I’m one who believes there’s a ‘right’ way to do things, and I’m always found following that way.
But really, does it matter? It’s taken me 30 years of marriage to realize that in fact, it doesn’t. Back to personality types, there are people who would always rather make peace than make conflict. I’ve never been one of those people. Conflict is a part of healthy relationships. But as it turns out, not always. In my own blinding flash of the obvious, I’ve come to agree with Paul. At least on this point. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be wrong?
I’ve been reading some fiction set in Amish country, now that I live in that vicinity. In a recent book, a family’s crop field was intentionally set on fire. Everyone knew who did it. The patriarch of the family, however, refused to press charges or even have the crime investigated further. Those in the community who sought justice were confused. Shouldn’t the guilty be held accountable?
His response was two-fold, and I reread that chapter a few times because it resonated. First, he argued that the suspect will be held accountable, but God’s the judge, not any human court. Yes! More convicting for me, he argued that if he pursued the crime, it would only create further animosity and ill will. Better to be wronged.
This morning, I’m thinking about the great wisdom in the notion that it’s better to be wronged than to be right. I want to be that person, who considers the greater good, both for God, and for all of God’s children.
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