A fool’s way is right in his own eyes, but the wise listen to advice. Proverbs 12:15, TLV

Do You Have to be Right?     Maybe it’s because I am the eldest child or other childhood circumstances, but I have struggled with the need to be right. A friend once called it a “lust” for being right.

The lust for being right is a trap. It keeps me, and others like me, trapped in a gloopy mire of insecurity and pride with the compulsion to be relevant and heard at any cost. That compulsion sticks to everything we touch and keeps people from getting close to us.

Honestly, in many situations I am right, but that overwhelming need to prove it, or lord it over another is so wrong. When others attempt to give their side or another point of view, I would tend to not listen but formulate my response while they spoke.

Today’s passage reminds me that listening is wise. It’s the first step to overcoming that foolishness—the need to be right.

How do I know if my opinion is “right”, if I don’t listen to others’ opinions?

My First Revelation

If I can’t listen, then how can I hear from my Heavenly Father? And even if I am right, does He want me to broadcast it? Or does He want to teach others Himself? My knowing what is right is meant as a reason to pray for others and to be there to confirm what He is showing them.

Maybe it all boils down to humility — not insecurity about my opinion — real humility that sees others as capable of hearing from God, too.

By being open to the possibility of a different perspective, the LORD may show me something new — a deeper insight. And — gulp — that it is okay to be wrong. And — double gulp — admit to being wrong.

Anyway, I think it boils down to this: the good is not about being right, it’s all about being wise.

Think More About It

Do you struggle with the “need” to be right? How has that hindered your walk? Are there people in your life that have a “lust” to be right? How do you handle that?

Until tomorrow, may we be wise, my friends.

My shield is God—
Savior of the upright in heart.
God is a righteous judge,
a God who is indignant every day. Psalm 7:11-12, TLV

Yikes. No doubt God must be indignant every day. We sure find ways to disappoint Him and each other. We’re not perfect, but we are motivated to learn and do better. How about today we pray that our hearts and the hearts of our brothers and sisters in Messiah would be upright—to not seek to be right, but to be upright and walk in grace. Amen? God bless you.