{"id":5555,"date":"2026-07-03T08:14:41","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T12:14:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/?p=5555"},"modified":"2026-07-03T08:14:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T12:14:41","slug":"agree-to-disagree-agreeably","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/03\/agree-to-disagree-agreeably\/","title":{"rendered":"Agree to Disagree Agreeably"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast<\/em>,\u00a0click here<\/a>

In his book The Greatest War Stories Never Told, <\/em>Rick Beyer describes the fateful charge of Pickett\u2019s Brigade on July 3, the final day of the Battle of Gettysburg:

With tens of thousands watching in awe, these brave men set off beneath the fierce afternoon sun.\u00a0<\/em>

A mile of farm fields separated them from the Union soldiers up on Cemetery Ridge, but come what may, they were intent on coming to grips with their enemy.<\/em>Proudly they marched, battle flags waving, a spectacle more dramatic than anyone there had ever seen.\u00a0As they drew close, the rebel yell broke from their throats.<\/em>

The Yankees, crouched behind a stone wall, could wait no longer.\u00a0Hearts about to burst with emotion, they flung themselves forward to meet the enemy.<\/em>

And then everyone hugged and cried.<\/em>

This was not the Civil War.\u00a0This was July 3, 1913<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 the 50th<\/sup> anniversary of Pickett\u2019s Charge.\u00a0The Confederate survivors of that horrific day, many wearing their old uniforms (as can be seen in the photo above), retraced their steps across the fields with canes and crutches.\u00a0Their Union counterparts and more than 100,000 spectators looked on.\u00a0

Philip Meyers, who witnessed the event, wrote, \u201cAs the rebel yell broke out after a half century of silence\u2026a moan, a gigantic sigh, a gasp of unbelief rose from the onlookers.\u201d

Men who had made war now chose to embrace peace.

On this particular July 3 \u2013 having arrived at the eve of our nation\u2019s 250th<\/sup> birthday in a cultural fog of anger, mistrust, and personal conflict \u2013 our call is surely to do the same.

Our current struggle is not that we\u2019re mired in disagreements.

Disagreements will always be with us. As author and apologist Vince Vitale points out, the real problem is that we have lost the ability to disagree well<\/em>.

All too often, disagreements lead to devaluing other human beings. If you and I have different convictions about consequential issues, my mind will quickly try to come up with reasons why you don\u2019t see the world the way I do (which I\u2019m pretty sure is the right way).

Apparently, you\u2019re deeply confused. Or you\u2019ve bought into the agenda of some radical podcaster on the Left or the Right. Or you are irrationally angry. Or you don\u2019t appreciate the nuances of my own story and why I feel the way I do, which is no doubt why you keep wounding me.

Or maybe you just like<\/em> wounding me. Because you\u2019re unhinged. Or because you should be on meds. Which explains why you go to the wrong place of worship, vote for the wrong candidates, and watch the wrong newscasts. In short, your views are messed-up because it\u2019s pretty obvious you\u2019re a seriously messed-up person.

Enough, already<\/em>.

Can\u2019t we find a healthier way forward?

The answer is not to eliminate disagreement. The last thing we need is a world in which disagreements can no longer be voiced. Cherishing different opinions about Stuff That Matters is one of the best things about being part of a vibrant community.

Instead of less disagreement, the need of the hour is more love \u2013 a love big enough that I can disagree with someone without devaluing them.

Where can such love be found?\u00a0

The next time you are in active disagreement with someone, silently bring to mind the fact that this person is God\u2019s unique creation. Just like you<\/em>. And this is a person for whom Jesus gladly died on the cross. Just like you<\/em>. The one thing that unites us with every other person on the planet is that God is utterly committed to us with a love that never quits \u2013 even when our words, actions, and cherished convictions must surely break his heart.

Jesus calls us to love others the way his Father in heaven loves them.

In the days ahead, whether you\u2019re in a family room, a board room, or a chat room, you\u2019ll be in position to ask one of two questions \u2013 either, \u201cHow can I get this other person to see that I am right?\u201d or \u201cHow can I communicate God\u2019s love and respect for this other person, even though we disagree?\u201d

The most profound way to \u201cconquer\u201d someone else is with love \u2013 a love that is patient, that listens carefully, and that is open to the possibility that we ourselves still have a whole lot to learn.

As the apostle Paul put it 20 centuries ago:\u00a0

\u201cWe\u2019re Christ\u2019s representatives.\u00a0God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God\u2019s work of making things right between them.\u00a0We\u2019re speaking for Christ himself now:\u00a0Become friends with God; he\u2019s already a friend with you\u201d <\/em>(2 Corinthians 5:19-20).

The need of the hour is to agree to disagree agreeably<\/strong>.

And, if possible, to meet one day on what used to be a field of combat and to share some hugs and tears.


May God bless you this Fourth of July holiday weekend with his grace, peace, and love.<\/em>

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

To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast,\u00a0click here In his book The Greatest War Stories Never Told, Rick Beyer describes the fateful charge of Pickett\u2019s Brigade on July 3, the final day of the Battle of Gettysburg: With tens of thousands watching in awe, these brave men set off beneath the fierce afternoon sun.\u00a0 A mile of farm fields… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5556,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[414,1143,104],"class_list":["post-5555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-disagreements","tag-gettysburg","tag-love"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5555","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=5555"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5555\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5557,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5555\/revisions\/5557"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}