McMusing: What if We Get It Wrong?

A Reflection on Being Sure We are Right.

My father often sits beside me as I write McMusings. Though his living presence has not been in that spot for quite a few years, his wisdom never leaves me. I can still hear him say, “There will be a lot of surprises when we get to Heaven.” I believe there will be far less for me now than when I believed that things could be known with absolute certainty. I accept that there is a chance—albeit a slight one—that I could be wrong about something. (wink)

When I landed in a very conservative self-proclaimed fundamentalist world, I heard many instructions about witnessing to the “lost.” One of those instructions was to say something like: “If you believe in Jesus, you have everything to gain and nothing to lose. If you don’t believe in Jesus and you are wrong, you have everything to lose.”

Not being right meant that you were headed for eternal damnation—but the theological point is not the one I wish to make. Some of my readers believe in a literal hell while others do not. It is a high-stakes question for those who do; It is a useless question for those who don’t. Let’s not get hung up there.

In a black-and-white world, there is always a wrong that is the opposite of what is right. The in-between grays are mostly ignored by all who wish to make a point and convince others that they are right. That is the kind of thinking that the above question promoted. “If I am right and you are wrong, then you are doomed. So, just accept what I am saying and save yourself from that possibility.” What a ridiculous fear-based way to pressure a faith decision! But it was a very popular tactic.

It was manipulation. Those questioned were told they were wrong while the questioner was never doomed. The questioner could say, “If I am right, I am good. If I am wrong, I am still good.” In truth, they weren’t actually good. That isn’t how it works. Faith by manipulation hurts the manipulator as much as those who manipulate. One loses their soul while the right to choose is robbed from the other person.

Sadly, this kind of manipulation is deeply embedded in those faith communities who believe they have a corner on “rightness”. Unlike my father who believed he might find out he was wrong about some things, those who have learned how to question others without ever being wrong themselves cannot entertain the idea that there might be some surprises behind the Pearly Gates.

It is a dangerous thing for people to be completely convinced they are right about everything. When faith communities only teach people how to be right and never provide help in accepting that they might be wrong there will inevitably be a lack of critical thinking—what faith communities call discernment.

So, in this volatile landscape, we are now navigating, what if we were to apply the same question? I cried in the wind for months about what I believed would occur if the election went red instead of blue. Not that I was convinced about the blue, but I was sure that going red was not the correct path. I asked, “What if you are wrong and I am right?”

I desperately wanted to be wrong. Some still think I am wrong. I guess I would prefer to be wrong in ways that love and care for all humanity and then wait for what will possibly surprise me on the other side of death. If I am right, Heaven will be a place where no one is rejected, racism is no more, wounds are healed, all physical needs are met, and the least will be first.

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

What if I am right and placing this as a priority here on earth was the point all along? Even if I am wrong the world would be better if we chose to care for the marginalized. Human history is filled with grave reminders of what happens when those who are convinced they are right get it wrong. It is a reminder to always allow for the possibility of being wrong.