it's better to remain silent and be thought a fool.........

one of my favorite quotes ever is the abraham lincoln qoute "it's better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt." i don't think that it's ever been said better than that.

let me give you 2 great examples of this. i saw two cars on the road and was amazed by how dumb people can make themselves look.

example #1: this car had a bumper sticker that said "UNITED WE STAND" and on the other side of the bumper it had a second bumber sticker that said "HE'S NOT MY PRESIDENT". so, apparently this person wants to contribute to our fallen position, or they are an idiot.

example #2: this car had a total of 4 bumper stickers #1-the only difference between obama and osama is bs. #2- 10 out of 10 terrorists approve of obama. #3- obama bin lyin. and my personal favorite, #4-positive and encouraging K-LOVE. ok, how do you have 'POSITIVE AND ENCOURAGING' on the same bumper as 3 derogatory stickers? why not instead, put some positive promo's of the candidate that you endorse. once again, i believe this person to be an idiot.

ok, i'm really not trying to be so harsh. i just get annoyed when people don't notice how important it is to know what you believe and be able to express it without attacking others.

let me give you an example. last week, i spent about 5 hours talking to someone that i don't agree with about our religious beliefs. at no point did we raise our voices, yell, call each other names or any other things like that. you see, the moment that you start doing those things is the moment that you lose your credibility. when people can't defend what they believe, they resort to attacking. trying to shut the other person up.

i like to debate/discuss. however, i refuse to argue. too many christians today, simply can not do this though. they really don't know why they believe the things that they believe. they can't tell you what the bible says, so they get angry at their own lack of knowledge, and start attacking what the other person stands for. do you really think your going to win anyone like that? at the moment you quit trying to explain your belief and start trying to tear down what they believe, they will no longer care what you have to say.

i'm not saying that i convinced him, nor he convinced me. however, we both entered the discussion with respect that the other person had strong beliefs and we both gave our points and listened, even if we disagreed. who knows, maybe one day, a life could be changed because we actually know why we believe what we believe.

so next time that you get angry when someone disagrees with you, ask yourself before you speak, "will this response draw them in, or push them away" and try your best not to REMOVE ALL DOUBT.

much love
theoldmusicbox