"I don't think Jay-sus would like that."
It must have been around 1989 when my best friend in the whole world, Damon Wilks, and I were taken to a church camp as Junior Counselors. Our main responsibility was to serve as sort of big brothers to the younger campers.
During that time, the movie "Big" had recently come out, and Damon and I had watched it numerous times. We saw a lot of our friendship reflected in the characters Billy and Josh. There was a little chant they would do that went something like this:
"Space goes..down down baby down down the roller coaster sweet sweet baby sweet sweet don’t let me go..Shimmy Shimmy Cocoa Pop Shimmy Shimmy Rock…."
You know the one. Well, Damon and I were proud that we could recite it line for line, and we thought it would be cool to share it with the young campers.
However, midway through our lesson, an adult counselor we didn't know interrupted us in a somewhat effeminate, almost caricature "Jump for Jesus" tone, saying, "Umm, boys. I don't think Jesus would like that."
Really, dude? I'm not saying Jesus was in the room dancing for joy, but there we were, two young pubescent guys happily spending a portion of our summer doing the Lord's work, and this guy wanted to dampen our moment of secular fun.
We immediately stopped, apologized, and later smiled and nodded at him as he belted out Rich Mullins lyrics through his well-trimmed blonde mustache, his permed and highlighted mullet bouncing to the beat as he clapped with his hands delicately touching in time. You know what Jesus wouldn't like? That perm.
Another experience that stuck in my mind was when a couple of Sunday School teachers explained to us why Garth Brooks' song "Unanswered Prayers" was not accurate.
"God always answers prayers," they argued.
Even my young brain could discern that sometimes the answer is found in no answer at all, just like my father had shown me throughout my life.
"Dad, can I have a new ball glove?" A wordless look and a stoic face were all the answer I needed. No words spoken. Answer given. I'm no Garth fan, but I remember thinking they were singling out a pretty decent song. Why?
Why do some people think it's their job to tell you you're wrong? Why do some people constantly notice the tiny wrongs and ignore the enormous rights? Why do some people think you MUST know when you should disapprove of something? Why do some people think it's their role to correct you? I'm not a fan of these people.
I love giving encouragement to others. I try to make a point of making people leave my company feeling better than when they arrived. Sure, people say dumb and stupid things, some of which are completely wrong. But is it really my duty to correct them? Sometimes, yes. Most of the time, no.
This doesn't mean that if someone said, "Hey J Dub, I think I'm gonna give cocaine a try. I hear it really boosts your creativity," I wouldn't say, "Yeah, that's dumb."
However, if I have a buddy making an argument that Godfather III is the best of the trilogy, I have to sit him down and ask him to keep quiet for no less than 48 hours..
If you've ever seen Ocean's Eleven, there are two characters played by Scott Caan and Casey Affleck who are always arguing over the most mind-numbing topics. They sound like morons not only because of their arguments but also because of the triviality of the topics. They are pointless.
This is what so many people do in day-to-day life. We even do it digitally. There’s an instinct to not let a person we don’t know from a place we don’t know spew nonsense on Twitter and think it’s our job to correct them. Hell, we don’t even know if the person is real.
Now, I can hear what some of you are saying. "Wait Jason. So you're telling me we should just accept whatever anyone says? We should never tell them they are wrong so as not to discourage them?"
Not at all, grasshopper. What I'm saying is that in these instances, you might try something like this:
Stupid Friend: "You know, I think communism really isn't such a bad idea. It just hasn't been done right."
You: "Interesting. I'd like to better understand your position. In fact, I don't really know all the details of how, say, the Soviet Union was set up. Can you explain it to me? What about the origins of communism? I wonder how the people who produce are motivated to give what the make to those who need? If they decide not to produce any longer, how do you make them continue?" All these questions should be posed in an inquisitive manner not accusator condescending one.
Stupid Friend: "Umm well..."
Here's the point. Instead of coming down on your friend with a sickle and hammer (though painted red, white, and blue and adorned with stars), start calmly asking questions.
I get it. We want to be right. We want to make sure the world around us is right. However, we need to exercise some tact and love when trying to straighten things out. And not everything you think is wrong or not quite right needs to be pointed out.