I Love to be Wrong!

Well, that's not really accurate... at all. I don't love to be wrong.

What I'm trying to say is that I love to learn that I have been wrong. Now, many consider this quite odd. Most people generally do not like to hear that they are wrong and if someone proves to them that they are, in fact, wrong, they usually will feel more annoyed than happy. So, I felt like writing a blog, explaining to the world that I am not just crazy: that I have a rational and logical reason for being happy to discover that I've been completely mistaken. In fact, I think that if more people saw things the way I did, and really didn't mind discovering their own flaws and confusions, that we would all live in more perfect peace and happiness. So why is it that I don't mind learning that I am wrong? Put simply, it's because I love to be right. To discover that I have been wrong is to discover that I can escape from that path!

Let me explain in further detail. I put forward first off the simple presupposition that if an idea or action is wrong, then it is not the best, and will lead to various negative outcome. I will be in a bad situation. Now, if I am in a bad situation, there are two possibilities:
1 - I am doing everything correctly
2 - I am doing something incorrectly
Now let us suppose that I am being persecuted for my faith in Christ, in which case I would be doing everything correctly, but still in a painful situation. It is of course awesome to suffer for what's right, but the fact that I am in the right is a painful fact because it means I have to continue with what I'm doing and believing, even though it's going to continue to be hard. On the other hand, let us suppose that I am being picked on because I am tactless, in which case I could make the painful situation dissolve simply by acting differently! What joy, what freedom, what relief is found in that sentiment! It's like all I have to do is to push one shiny button, and my problem goes away! Now that is awesome.

This is not limited to merely doing things incorrectly, but also applies to thinking incorrect thoughts, which can have much more subtle negative consequences. Subtle or not, I know that truth is more awesome, and am glad to avoid all the consequences of believing lies! As you can see, then, as a mere matter of practicality, understanding where one is wrong is the best thing that can happen to a person! If I believe that guns work without being loaded, and then learn that I am wrong: that a gun works better if it actually has ammunition in it, it is going to help me in a big way when I actually get out there on the battlefield!

The one thing that mainly holds people back from this very practical way of viewing things is that many people simply don't like the idea that they are wrong, or have been doing things wrong for any period of time. Personally, I have come to be quite familiar with the fact that I am often quite dumb and mess up quite a bit. It doesn't bother me anymore. (Perhaps because I have learned to accept and love myself, even with all my flaws) I am not shocked to learn that I am wrong anymore than I would be shocked to hear that my Mom is going to Walmart. She goes to Walmart almost every day, and I'm sure that I'm wrong more often than that!

So, basically, since I don't see it as a negative to see that I am wrong (I am used to it) and I do see it as a positive to learn a better and more practical way to think about and do things, I love to learn that I have been wrong! I love to see where I am wrong, because I love to be right! You see, one of the the only ways to become more right is to see where you are wrong currently. I should add that I have this view in mind when I sometimes argue with other people. My basic point is never "you're wrong and I'm so much smarter than you," but rather "I have good news for you! The world is so much more awesome than you think it is!" Also, just because I am glad to see that I have been wrong does not mean that I am easy to persuade: I study and think about everything I believe. If you can honestly show me where and how it is invalid, then I would love to learn from that! But until then, as my brother says, "I believe what I believe, and I'm going to believe the heck out of it!"

God Bless!