by Jgtrs » Sat Sep 20, 2014 12:43 pm
In my experience, pride often keeps us from learning and growth. Pride in our beliefs, in our ability to discern, and in our perception of understanding can be as cloudy to growth as the blinders we place on ourselves when we don't want to address or deal with the incongruity between our beliefs and behaviors, which is usually the only part of the pride picture that gets addressed from the pulpit. I have found that truly happy people are typically humble people, especially those who realize that God is among us, or rather, that God works his miracles through the interactions of us mortals, or that there is a connection among and between us tied to something greater than ourselves, whether this greater thing is called God or something else.
It's interesting to me that LDM makes so many people so irritated. I completely understand it, but telling him it's in the message or tone probably isn't helpful. Firstly, LDM might consider that when the majority has some problem with your behavior, that's a very strong clue that your behavior is socially annoying. That does not necessarily mean that all your ideas are wrong, just that something in your social behavior annoys a lot of people. However, LDM is obviously a very principled man, so he likely cares more about defending his principles than social acceptance and the love of others. He does not appear to be driven to please others (not including family or those very close to him), other than through his service to God.
It's also pretty clear to me that LDM has thick skin and doesn't seem personally insulted when he gets attacked, or if he is emotionally hurt it doesn't really come out in his writing. This makes sense because emotions aren't driving his behavior. Rather, logic and a desire to obey God seem foremost in his rationale. If he were more driven by emotions, he would probably be better able to sense how he annoys so many people. But, I think it is more important for LDM to be right, or to assert what he strongly feels is the right opinion, rather than to assuage any egos or emotions. I don't think he intentionally wants to make anyone feel bad, other than those who are in need of repentance.
Most of us can see inconsistencies in LDM's belief paradigm, but in his opinion he is very consistent, and will defend his paradigm point by point with what appears to him as strong logic. We all tend to miss our inconsistencies and "blind spots" too. I think difficulties then arise in these areas where LDM sees no "wiggle room" and nearly everyone else does. That is where LDM seems to refuse to acknowledge there may be wiggle room and where nearly everyone else refuses to give up on trying to make him believe there is.
We probably all have areas where we WILL NOT BUDGE or wiggle. I believe there are some behaviors that we would all agree are just inherently wrong and evil, and we could find supportive evidence for our beliefs; then there are probably other behaviors that most would say are wrong, but some say are okay, until you move on this continuum until you find things that nearly everyone accepts. It is unlikely anyone could make us change our belief about things on the ends of OUR continuum, even with evidence that supports another opinion. And, we probably wouldn't worry about who we upset in our efforts to promote or protect our belief. We would likely feel justified and maybe even uplifted by our staunch and powerful voice. We would probably refuse to even seriously consider or ponder a different opinion because we already have a intensely strong belief that this is a no wiggle room area.
I mention this to help us understand that maybe LDM isn't all that different from the rest of us, just that his wiggle room lines are in a different place. For you math geeks, his standard error of measurement is narrower. And yes, like all of us, he has his outliers that he tries to use logic to explain, but might not make sense based on the other data.
Additionally, maybe we can use this example and experience to help ourselves become more open to other ideas or belief systems. I'm not advocating we become accepting of behaviors or practices that are harmful, degrading, or hurtful to other people, just that we consider being more open to learning from other people, and more open to the whisper of God, which, I believe, often comes through our fellow humans.
