“Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions.” Proverbs 18:2 NIV
This past week I remember working with 4 couples, and in all 4 of them the main issue was aligning with their partner. Notice I didn’t say agreeing, but aligning. It is possible to align, to be united, on the same team, without agreeing. Our last couple, when Tracy asked “what was your biggest take away from our session” the wife said “it felt so good when he acknowledged what I said… I felt validated”.
As basic as this might seem it isn’t as natural as you might think. Our nature is to jump steps, be time efficient, and dump our reasons on each other. The Bible reminds us fools rejoice in airing their own opinions. Yes, it is foolish to repeat oneself like a broken record, to see no progress, but dispute of this continue dumping “facts”.
Let us pay attention to our ways of communicating. If something isn’t working perhaps we could try a different strategy. It is possible to align even if we don’t agree.