No Offense Sýnishorn

Delight in Being Wrong 

Most of us relish being right. But what if we need to learn to delight in being wrong? 

Think about it. When we’re convinced that our perspective is right, we’re not open to listening to others or learning from others. But we often grow the most when faced with new information or new points of view.

We see this play out in Luke 10 when Jesus visits Mary and Martha. Martha is busy cleaning, cooking, and preparing for their visit with the Savior of the world. Meanwhile, her sister Mary gives Jesus her undivided attention, listening to Him and spending time with Him—not helping with the preparations. 

Martha is pretty irritated, and soon enough, she confronts Jesus about this, saying: 

… “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” Luke 10:40 NIV 

Martha is convinced she’s right, and her anger backs her up. After all, she’s been doing all the work, and Mary is just sitting around. Surely Jesus will give her the justice she deserves and rebuke Mary, right? 

Wrong. 

Jesus looks at Martha and replies: 

“Martha, Martha … you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42 NIV

In her anger, Martha didn’t even recognize that she was wrong. She was worked up about something that didn’t really matter, while the person she was angry at was doing the right thing. 

Often, the same is true for us. 

We convince ourselves that we’re right and they’re wrong, so we’re better and they need to know it. But our perspective is often incomplete. 

When we take some time to truly listen to others and listen to God, we might discover that we’re not actually right—or maybe it’s not as black and white as we thought. 

And when confronted with that new information, we have a choice. We can get even angrier that we were wrong. Or we can delight in being wrong, choosing to be thankful for the opportunity to learn and grow.

So the next time you come across a view that you disagree with, adopt a growth mindset. Instead of reacting in anger or boosting your pride, consider why someone else has that perspective. 

Listening to understand may not change your mind, but it can expand your heart. So instead of dismissing or criticizing someone’s view, choose to show empathy and delight in the fact that we don’t always know whether we’re right, but we can always choose to show love.

Pray: God, thank You for giving us all such unique perspectives. We need one another. Show me any areas where I’ve allowed my pride to blind me, and give me greater humility and empathy for others. Help me choose to have a growth perspective, and give me the wisdom to delight when I’ve been wrong so that I can rely more on You and others. In Jesus’ name, amen.