Remember, when we were kids, how sure we were that we were right about something important (or unimportant)? The argument would go something like this: “Yes it is!” “No, it isn’t!” “It is!” “It isn’t!” “It is!” “No, it isn’t!” Sometimes, that would go on until an adult would say, “That’s enough!” We obviously subscribed to Irving Wallace’s philosophy, “To be one’s self, and unafraid, whether right or wrong, is more admirable than the easy cowardice of surrender to conformity” (or to an-other’s point of view). These same arguments can be heard among adults as well: “Yes it is!” “No it isn’t!” These are the words that lead to divorce, injury and depression. J. K. Rowling said that “People find it far easier to forgive others for being wrong than being right.” Sometimes forgiveness never becomes part of the equation at all. I enjoy a little humor from time to time, and I was reading a line the other day which asked, “If a husband makes a statement while he is all alone in the woods, is he still wrong? There is no more important place to have flexibility in our knowing than in our marital relationship. There, it doesn’t matter if she or he dot- ted the i or crossed the t. If you can even barely make out what your companion was saying to you, acknowledge it without any correction. That is the relationship where knowing positively and without any doubt is kept in a secure place in one’s mind unless it is a matter of life and death. Happy relationships are built on love and compromise, not on one being right and the other wrong. Religion, like politics, is another example. Most of the hundreds of various and sundry religions will testify that that which they teach (preach) is based on correct principles or being “right.” They may claim it has its origin from some great creed (chiseled in stone) designed by a council of saints or in some revelatory experience that came from a source greater and higher than humankind. Therefore, their doctrine may not make much sense from a rational perspective, but with such a claim who would dare argue for common sense, or an earthly view. Most of these worldly religions will profess love and charity as primary principles, but that is never enough to bring converts or pilgrims because those principles only attest to their commonness. They each must have something they can claim to be “right” (unique) that will set them apart and at the same time be attractive to prospective converts. In many cases, it may come down to the attractiveness of the preacher or his ability to entertain. Right is not always as clear cut as we would wish for it to be. A good example of that is the political arena where the assumption is that the arena is diversely made up of mostly intelligent men and women who have been elected to represent the various populations that they were elected from. Too, right is seldom clear based on the broad range of commentators who make a good living criticizing or supporting those elected. The ultimate hope of the electorate is that they will pass laws, regulations and programs for funding that will benefit the lives of their constituents and, more importantly, the populace of the whole country. Yet, each party has their opinions about what is right or best for all. The debates and arguments coming from both sides will seem convincing and even “right” to some segment of the people. In other words, it appears that there are many individual right ways to do a thing, or maybe each of the opinions are only partly right. Webster’s dictionary states the following as a definition of the word right:
“Conforming to facts or truth; most favorable or desired.” Can a politician or a party’s opinion or idea be right because it may be somewhat conforming to the truth or a fact? By the way, whose truth? Or better yet, can two viewpoints each be conforming to the truth? So which one is more right? Can someone’s stand on a subject be the most favorable or desired? That is highly relative, and, I think, that is the very point I am trying to make. It’s all relative. Lawmakers usually end up compromising their position to get a bill passed. Hopefully, the compromise will better represent the best solution to the purpose for which the law was introduced or the more right than either of the opposition bills originally presented. The Mike Huckabee show had a preacher on, the other night, who discussed the rights of churches across the country to preach politics. The federal government argues that to do so they should lose their first amendment status as a religion, and the church should be fined or lose their tax exempt status for doing so. The preacher felt that preachers should have a right to preach whatever God tells them to preach. The problem with that thinking is that when it comes to politics, each preacher has a different god, as one may preach support for one candidate and the next one down the street will always support his opponent. Which god’s advice should the congregation cast their vote with? The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has it RIGHT! They do not allow church facilities to be used for any political purposes and advise members to study the issues and each of the candidate’s platform and then vote intelligently. Not that we all do, because many vote for a candidate different from the one I voted for. They therefore voted wrongly. Right? Everyone who has a strong feeling about their candidate will say the same thing. To remain receptive to what the world has to offer, we must keep an open mind and heart. We must learn to listen to what others have to say. The “right” we end up with will, hopefully, be worthy of our subscription. We are all different and unique and will never be replicated. I do not think exactly the same as you do, nor do you think as I. We may get caught in the mind pattern of “if this is so easy for me to see, why can’t you see it?” The truth is that just because I can do something or think a certain way, does not mean that you can or will. Nor does it make me better or more “right.” We are just different. There are costs to always being “right.” When we are viewed as a person who thinks he knows it all, we alienate people. To be unwilling to give and take in our world will isolate ourselves from others. We will turn away our community and their affections. We close ourselves off to what the world has to offer because we “know everything better.” May Heavenly Father help us to realize that we are in transition; we are here to learn. We can always learn something from another if we will listen and respect them. Though truth is eternal, as is God the author of it, man’s right is always relative! And, as Marvin Williams has so wisely said, “There is no better test of a man’s integrity than his behavior when he is wrong.” It is better to be known as a person of integrity than as a person who is always “right.” May the God of us all bless us with His truth and an open mind in respect to man’s RIGHT.