{"id":3765,"date":"2024-06-24T09:30:30","date_gmt":"2024-06-24T13:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=3765"},"modified":"2024-06-24T09:30:30","modified_gmt":"2024-06-24T13:30:30","slug":"the-last-word-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/24\/the-last-word-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The Last Word"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast,\u00a0<\/em>click here<\/a>

Students in a class taught by Dr. Dallas Willard remember the day that one of their number was moved to a display of sheer arrogance.

Until his death in 2013, Willard \u2013 a professor of philosophy at USC and the author of a number of books on Christian spiritual formation \u2013 was widely regarded as one of the world\u2019s sharpest minds.

The student, trying to pick a fight, raised his hand and attempted to rekindle a trivial argument he had had with the prof.

The rest of the class held\u00a0its collective breath.\u00a0They waited for Willard to demolish the young man\u2019s position, and no doubt leave him humiliated.\u00a0As one observer later wrote, \u201cI joke sometimes that I never get into an argument with Dallas, because I\u2019m afraid he will prove I don\u2019t exist.\u201d

Willard\u2019s response surprised everyone.

He said warmly, \u201cWell, I think that\u2019s a good place for the class to end.\u00a0Let\u2019s just stop there, and then we\u2019ll pick it up next time.\u201d

After the class another student approached Willard.\u00a0\u201cYou could have let him have it!\u00a0Why didn\u2019t you do it?\u201d

Dallas responded, \u201cI\u2019m practicing the discipline of not having the last word.\u201d

Most of us could rattle off a list of spiritual practices:\u00a0prayer, worship, contemplation, and service come to mind. But rarely do we consider restraint <\/em>\u2013 intentionally holding ourselves back in a spirit of humility \u2013 as a way of loving others and imitating the character of Christ.\u00a0

The power of not getting the last word is obvious. It represents a decision to turn down the flame of a disagreement or conflict.

The apostle Paul makes a direct appeal in one of his letters to a pair of female disciples who are apparently struggling to do just that. He writes in Philippians 4:2-3:

\u201cI plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind\u00a0in the Lord.\u00a0Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers,\u00a0whose names are in the book of life.\u201d<\/em>

Aside from these few words, we know absolutely nothing about these two women. But that hasn\u2019t kept people from trying to guess. Over the centuries, commentators have had a field day.

Some have proposed Syntyche and Euodia were deaconesses arguing over a point of theology. Others have suggested one of the names was originally masculine, which implies this might have been a husband-wife quarrel (as if that sort of thing ever happens).

A few exegetes have speculated that Paul is using coded language. One of the names represents Jewish Christians, while the other stands for Gentile Christians. He is thus urging these two ethnicities to figure out how to peacefully co-exist.

Most scholars, however, believe that Paul is addressing two real individuals mired in some kind of personal conflict. Some have even speculated that the entire letter to the church at Philippi \u2013 with its timeless verses on anxiety and prayer (4:6-7), being able to do all things through Christ who gives us strength (4:13), and Paul\u2019s call to forget the past and press on toward the goal of knowing Christ (3:7-14) \u2013 are just peripheral \u201cwindow dressing\u201d for his real purpose in writing: Ladies, please figure out how to get along<\/em>.

My best guess? Euodia and Syntyche were co-chairs of the committee to remodel the church kitchen.

Regardless of the specifics, imagine being publicly \u201ccalled out\u201d by name in holy Scripture for all time.

Paul\u2019s point is that fighting doesn\u2019t fit those who are fit for God\u2019s kingdom. And one practical way forward is to surrender our need to \u201ccome out on top.\u201d

This week, choose to let someone else have the last word:\u00a0at home, at work, and in that argument that never seems to end.

And if you find you just can\u2019t do it?

Well, there\u2019s one sure-fire way to always have the last word:

Apologize.<\/em>
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast,\u00a0click here Students in a class taught by Dr. Dallas Willard remember the day that one of their number was moved to a display of sheer arrogance. Until his death in 2013, Willard \u2013 a professor of philosophy at USC and the author of a number of books on Christian spiritual formation \u2013… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3766,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[754],"class_list":["post-3765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-conflict"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3765"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3765\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3767,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3765\/revisions\/3767"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}