Unlearning at the Feet of the Unteacher

I Corinthians 6:7 "Why not rather be wronged?"

Well, I'll tell you why: Because it goes against everything I've learned since the moment I entered into this world. We've been taught, even in Christian circles, to fight for our rights, our way of life, the forms of our religion, etc.

Even as a young boy in church, we would play the other churches in basketball, and at that early age they cultivated in me an "us vs. them" mentality . . . . about other Christian churches! Playing sports growing up taught me the same thing: To fight for my space. The church-church conflict and the brother-brother conflict were ingrained in me every step of the way. Again - this is within the church body.

This played out in every area of my life, from competing for the academic prizes, the athletic trophies, the 20 feet of pavement in front of me when I'm driving - all the way to how I dealt with my brother in church and other churches in my area. I was a competitive mess. Their gain only meant one thing - my loss. And I could never allow that to happen.

Then I decided to truly sit at the feet of the Master. To read the life and words of Christ under the power of the Holy Spirit. And I learned a strange thing: He wasn't so much a teacher as He was an unteacher. I didn't so much learn things as unlearn them. Things like true forgiveness and reconciliation, putting my brother before me, setting aside my rights. When Paul writes, "Why not rather be wronged?" he is saying something so counter-intuitive to how we've been raised that it almost sounds like he's making a joke!!

But he's not. He's echoing the words of Christ in the Sermon on the Mount, the magnum opus on what a true Christian life really looks in this world. Every time I read it, I unlearn something new. As contradictory as that statement sounds, it's what I feel happening to me as He removes deeply imbedded "truths" and replaces it with The Truth.

Why not rather be wronged, if it means someone else will be righted?