Programmed Backwards

Human beings are sometimes funny people. Take me, for instance. I sometimes wonder if I’m programmed backwards.

I blog. I do this either because I might have something helpful to say or, perhaps, because I merely think I might have something helpful to say. Maybe I just fancy myself as an author and I take advantage of the easy publication available because of the Internet. Yet, why am I so anxious to join the chorus of talkers? Perhaps I should spend more time listening.

It’s interesting how many folks pride themselves on speaking their minds. Many folks feel compelled to have their voices heard. I am no exception. However, who is the most useful participant in a conversation, a speaker or a listener? In fact, if everyone spends their time speaking and making sure their point is heard, no one “hears” anything. Certainly no one ends up helping their fellow human being. It’s easy to talk. I think I might do well to listen a whole lot more.

This makes me wonder if my human wiring is simply backward. I seem to look first to how things impact me when I believe I should be looking to how I can be available to others.

It’s interesting that God does not seem to require us to have an opinion about ourselves, or anyone else for that matter. In fact, it seems to be discouraged by the edict “do not judge”. However, can I go a day without an opinion about myself? I know I can’t go a day without opinions about others.

Yet with everything we spend our time doing, there is an opportunity cost. What else could I have spent my time and mental energy on if I wasn’t so concerned about how I measure up? Was it a productive use of my time drawing conclusions about how others are behaving? Maybe I should try to spend a day trying to not have an opinion. I would bet that, at a minimum, I would see myself and the rest of the world more positively. After all, most opinions are not favorable.

I wonder if the problem is a distorted understanding of grace. If I just accept that everyone is flawed, I don’t need to confirm that over and over again in my mind with opinions. My seeming need for opinions may be a failure to fully grasp the concept of grace. My backwards programming seems be the very essence of a fallen nature. I don’t need to have an opinion about it. In fact, maybe I could spend my time doing something else, like listening.

Copyright 2015  Daniel Blake