Have you ever wondered if or when you are Right or Wrong in a Disagreement?

Have you ever wondered if or when you are Right or Wrong in a disagreement?

Eileen Renders

During our lives, we often find ourselves with opposite opinions or viewpoints with family members or friends. Sometimes, we are offended to learn that our family and friends do not share our opinion, and our feelings are hurt.

Unfortunately, these opposite opinions can lead to walking away from a discussion in a huff or the end to a friendship. Reflecting on how we, like many others, react to discussions involving politics, religion, or economics, which can cause intense reactions, we might want to ask ourselves, “Why did I react this way?” Do we think it is necessary to fight to be right, or are we too proud to get to the root of these arguments and be able to resolve them peacefully?

There is an old saying that goes like this: “There is no right or wrong in one’s opinion, there are simply differences of opinion.”

Avoiding unnecessary anger because another disagrees with our opinions is to be expected. And this is so because we are different. We may have inherited different personality traits, we come from different backgrounds, and life experiences that influence our opinions. Often, we choose our friends because it was those differences that initially intrigued us.

Yet there are only two little words we need to say to allow our interactions with others to grow, flourish, and remain intact, however, these words are not said as often as needed. Those two words are “I apologize” or “I am sorry.”

We may feel we are right, and our counterpart is wrong, yet that does not make us right! To argue over one’s feelings and opinions makes us wrong! To say, “I apologize, I was wrong,” makes us stand in a negative light, a sin of Pride. Matthew 5:9, “Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God” from the Sermon on the Mount.