“High Road” or Higher Ground?
By Susan Klein
“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of
God.”
1 Corinthians 10:31 (NIV)
Flipping through the
channels one night, I stopped at an unfamiliar sitcom. Two women were sitting
in a coffee shop. I listened as one woman relived a conflict she recently had
with her sister to the other woman at the table. The other woman implored, “She
REALLY said that?!! What did you say to her? I would have given her a piece of
my mind!” The first woman responded, “Oh, trust me, I wanted to. But, I’m going
to take ‘the high road,’ and not say anything at all. That will show her who
the bigger person is!”
A commercial break
gave me time to ponder this scenario. Was she really taking “the high road”? Just
by speaking about the incident with an uninvolved party, wasn’t she really
trying to rally the troops in her corner and justify her position? Couldn’t it,
in fact, be considered gossiping? And, would “saying nothing at all” really
help to resolve the conflict or restore the relationship? More likely, it would
just be a form of avoidance, or even payback. Not exactly the high road. I
flipped to the cooking channel.
I think sometimes
the defining lines of “taking the high road” and “going to higher ground” can
be somewhat blurry: one being mistaken for the other. In the above scenario,
the high road was a road of self-elevation, saying, “Look at me, I’m being so
much better than she!” Had the woman conveyed instead, “I’m going to choose to
overlook her offense, forget all about it, and love her anyway,” she’d be
moving to higher ground. She’d be honoring God, as well as showing love to the
other person.
The “higher ground”
is the place where God is. It is where we go to seek Him, and learn to model
His grace and mercy. It is asking Him, “Lord, how can I respond rightly in this
situation to bring glory and honor to you?” Or, “What is the response that will
most help the other person involved?” It is often a place of self-sacrificing,
and never a place of self-exalting. It is definitely a place of great mercy and
love, never one of revenge or retribution. It is most certainly a place of
restoration.
Next time we are
inclined to “take the high road” in a situation, let’s be sure it’s the road
that leads to “higher ground.”
GOING DEEPER:
1. What is your typical response in
a conflict?
2. What positive steps can you take
to move toward a godly response in conflict?
FURTHER
READING:
Susan is married to Mark, and
co-leads an in-home small group. She serves as a mentor to young women, and is
a member of Oakwood’s Peace Team, helping people work through conflict.
