Better to Be Loving Than Right

I was recently watching the TV show Ted Lasso, and one line stopped me in my tracks:

“Isn’t it better to be known for being loving than to be known for being right?”

Oof. That hit me deep.

I’ve been walking through a tough season with someone lately. This person frustrates me often. I’ve caught them lying, taking credit for my ideas and others ideas, repeating the same mistakes despite multiple conversations, and dropping the ball on important things & somewhere along the way, I started operating out of selfishness and what I thought was righteous anger.

The truth? I wasn’t acting out of righteousness at all.

Instead of addressing things with grace, I found myself making passive comments in front of others, wanting people to see what I was dealing with behind the scenes. It wasn’t enough for me to know I was right, I wanted everyone else to know it too. Pride was driving my thoughts and actions.

But here’s the thing, the Bible never says, Blessed are the ones who are right. (LOL!) It says, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31). Jesus calls us to “do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3).

And when it comes to how we serve and love others, Jesus teaches in Matthew 6 that the things we do in secret, not for public praise are the things God rewards. Being right might feed my pride for a moment, but being loving is what reflects Jesus.

That quote from a silly, non faith based show has been ringing in my ears. I want to be someone known for love, not for winning arguments. At the end of the day, being known for being right is about my pride, but being known for being loving is about being like Jesus.

So here’s the question I’ve been asking myself and maybe you need to ask it too: When I interact with others, am I more concerned about proving my point or showing Christ’s love?

Because the truth is, only one of those is eternal.