The problem with this site is that the cadence swallows conversations.
Have you ever noticed that?
On other blogs, conversations have a chance to unfold. Momentum can build around an idea and people can talk through an issue and enjoy the back and forth challenges that erupt when different opinions are shared. But that’s hard to do on Stuff Christians Like.
If you miss a day or two, the idea train has moved on. A steady onslaught of new posts quickly push the previous day’s idea down a spot until it gets covered up entirely and stopped maybe before it’s over.
(That’s a benefit too in that if you don’t like a post one day you can trust that there are 500 other ones to read and hopefully 500 more to come.)
But I didn’t want to walk away too quickly from yesterday’s post about giving someone the gift of going second. I wanted to give that conversation a chance to continue.
First a point of clarity. The post was about honesty, not throwing up on people with all your junk if they ask you how things are when you’re riding in the elevator to a meeting. I completely agree with the great comments that said that’s whack and am certainly not encouraging that. If not saying anything honest is on one end of the spectrum then sharing everything with everyone with no discernible boundaries or intent other than your own release of guilt is the other end of the spectrum. And both ends suck.
Second, well I don’t really have a second but I didn’t realize that until I already wrote “First.”
I do have two questions for you today though:
1. Who gave you the gift of going second?
2. Who are you going to give it to?
I’ll go first (and I’ll leave out name specifics so folks don’t get shy.)
1. A guy named Troy H. gave me the gift of going second. He gave me a thousand gifts of second and was used by God to help save my marriage and my life.
2. I am giving the gift of second to a friend of mine named Dan. He’s not a Christian but recently I had the chance to go first, so I did. I also plan on giving the gift of going second in some form or fashion to every group I get to speak to. For instance, when I spoke at the Dave Ramsey headquarters I told them about a lie I had been telling about a deep friendship with Donald Miller that I didn’t really have in order to make myself look cooler than I really am. (We had one 15 minute phone conversation 3 years ago but based on how I’ve told that story you would think I saved Donald Miller’s life in Nam.)
Funny will commence tomorrow. Today, let’s talk:
1. Who gave you the gift of going second?
2. Who are you going to give it to?
