Thanks for all of your prayers and encouragement yesterday as I wallowed in the mud of self-pity. Nothing bad happened. Today the sun has yet to rise, but I'm sure it will.
I had a young man in my store yesterday who was conversing with myself and others about the war in Iraq. He made this comment when asked his opinion, "I don't want to say because you will cause me to change it."
I thought that he was an ignorant and stupid kid who needed to get over this silly mentality. I hope he grows out of it. The whole reason to express one's thoughts isn't to convince others of them but to test them. I don't go around trying to manipulate people into believing what I believe. I go around trying to test what I believe in order to insure that it is the truth. Throwing an idea into the public arena is like throwing something rough into a machine that smooths it (the analogy machine was broken here. I couldn't think of an example. An award of absolutely nothing to the best comparison in the comments.)
That is one of the roles this blog plays. I love critical constructive criticism of my thoughts. I'm not too fond of the attacks on me personally by the likes of the near infamous Mr. Anonymous, but I do appreciate people taking jabs at my thoughts. If you have something personal against me, please bring it up offline. You can email me, and I would give you my phone number. But if you disagree with a thought I have, don't be selfish. Be loving and share your disagreement, so that I can chew on it and possibly change what I think. Although it would be nice and relaxing, I don't want to live in a existential world where there is no testing of ideas because every idea is legitimate in its own right. Disagreeing with me in a friendly way is one of my love languages. I know that it isn't one of the official love languages, but it is with me.
So feel free to criticize my thoughts. Just make sure you present a valid alternative. Many times all possible answers are like ships with holes; we just need to choose the one that will keep us afloat long enough to get us to shore. We might just disagree on what ship would sink faster. Other times there is a good ship and a ship with holes. It is through constructive conversation that we will have right thinking.
I hope.
Watch out for the potholes.
