Hoary head, the
When I was about 18, I attended a Christadelphian fraternal
gathering. The speaker was an older brother (60 or 65), and a dynamic (and
learned) speaker. But on this particular occasion he made a fairly simple
mistake (the details are of no consequence, except to say it was plainly not
just a slip of the tongue -- it was a real mistake). When the time came for
questions and discussion, guess whose hand popped up first: "Brother, how could
such-and-such be true when it says in so-and-so verse that etc, etc?"
I had him "dead to rights"... and I tell you, I can look back
30+ years and still feel a bit of the smugness I felt then. He was wrong, and he
knew it... and now everybody else knew it too.
We all waited while brother X thought it over for a few
seconds. Then, quite simply, he said: "You're right; I was wrong." Nothing
more.
And that was it! Except I still carry the memory of a brother
who was (indeed) well-versed in the Bible, and a wonderful communicator, and
(justly) revered by many other brethren... who was nevertheless not afraid to
say, "I was wrong."
I think that was worth more than anything I learned that
day... and a lot of other days as well.
*****
Actually, come to think of it... that simple story says a lot
more -- to me at least -- about:
- human nature,
- the pride of life,
- the nature of sin,
- the mind of
the flesh,
- the mind of the spirit,
- humility, and
- a few other "deep"
Bible subjects...
...than do a lot of quite erudite discourses.
