Isn't there anything we can agree on?

This past week served as a great reminder that people will find any reason they can to argue.  It doesn't matter if the issues are significant or simple, there just seems to be something inside of us that likes to argue.  It doesn't matter whether it is in friendships, our families, our communities, or even in our churches, no place is immune to arguing.  

I was a little worked up this week about an argument that I observed taking place online.  I normally don't get too worked up about such things but I thought this one was so absurd from all sides that I became a bit agitated. 

Fortunately Jon Stewart was around this week to remind us all that ridiculous arguments aren't really that uncommon and that we will really find any reason to argue that we can.  

Apparently some 4th graders were studying how the government operates. This is a great thing. Coming from a political science background in college I would recommend everyone spending some time learning about how your government operates.  So they partnered with a senator to propose a bill that would make yogurt the official snack of the state of New York.  That seems pretty benign, right? It isn't related to any major social or political policy so it shouldn't take much time to get this through.  

It turns out that they spent 50 minutes debating this bill. That is 10 minutes less than an hour and probably 47 minutes longer than they should have spent on it.  Anyway, you just have to watch the video clip above to get the full sense of what happened.  

The Daily Show
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Now I'd be remiss if I didn't make some theological connection to this conversation.  Why do we do this?  Why do we argue so much?  It is because we are naturally focused on ourselves.  Our natural inclination is to focus on ourselves and our own needs and desires and not on those of others.  This is problematic when you get 2 or more people together.  When people get together there has to be some external motivation to get them to work together instead of arguing.  A lot of times this is simply transactional.  What can I get from the other person?  Knowledge, friendship, love, a job?  The list is endless.  

Maybe there is another way.  In fact, I would guarantee there is another way.  For that we flip to Philippians 2 where I'll leave you with this quote:

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

I think it is something worth keeping in mind!