Flip A Coin

It seems to me that we've embraced a very narrow view of how things are supposed to be. If we maintain too selective a focus, we can miss out on truth. Enter a coin.

Flip a coin, heads or tails; it's a two sided decision maker, or is it? Is a coin as simple as yes or no, right or wrong, good or evil, or any other example of a dichotomy that exists? Often we complicate things for ourselves, however just as bad is when we oversimplify. Often the truth lies between extremes and is not just as simple as yes or no.

A coin does not have two sides, it has three. The technical names for these three sides are obverse, reverse and edge. Yes the edge of a coin is one of it's three sides. What is significant about that you might ask? Well the edge, much like the truth, is often overlooked, quietly escaping our notice.

For example, in our group there is a very conservative element. If I were to speak out about conservatism, I would be quickly identified as a liberal, which actually I have [1]. If I were then to point out any inconsistencies that exist among the most liberal of us, I would be labeled as conservative, and then as inconsistent myself because I was neither conservative or liberal. Labels like conservative or liberal are just generalities that lend themselves misinterpretation, and are not an adequate method to determine the truth.

An excellent example of this can be found in Joshua. When the Children of Israel were near Jericho, an armed man stood in the way, so Joshua asked him whose side he was on (Josh 5:13). The man didn't choose sides, but instead declared that he was come as the Captain of the Lord's army (Josh 5:14). Joshua could only see two possible positions for the man, either for him or against him. The Captain's stance represented neither of these two possibilities.

When we as a group are discussing something, whether it be standards or anything else, we tend to take sides and then begin defending our position. While this is normal human behavior, we make an enormous error when we do this. We assume that we are right and those who oppose us are wrong and we don't ever consider that we might be wrong ourselves. Furthermore, it never enters into our minds that both sides might be wrong. The logic behind the thought that if one side is wrong the other side must be right is not only flawed, but is responsible for so much misunderstanding between people that it is abhorrent.

I am going to show my point with an simple exposition of dress code. One "side" says that the way we dress it is our holiness and that a dress standard should be rigidly held to with no exception. Another "side" says that the way we dress is only external and that God is working on our hearts and that is all that really matters and a rigid dress standard is really unnecessary. The truth of the matter is is that BOTH of these sides have good things to say, but that BOTH are not the truth on dress.

Just so you understand me, I'm not suggesting compromise either. It is not my intention to declare the the truth of this group's dress standard issue lies somewhere between these extremes either. I will go on record that the truth lies outside of either of these views, and if we were to search for that truth, we would see much of the bickering and consternation that has been so prevalent of late disappear. We must learn to discard the "one of us have to be right" mentality and really search for the truth. You can't find the truth when you're defending your position.

Reference:

[1] http://paulbdyal.blogspot.com/2009/10/root-of-problem-is.html