Words are tools

I've been thinking a lot about words. I like words. Anyone that knows me knows that I love to discuss. I love to hears other's ideas and to share mine. I also do not like to beat around the bush. One of the worst parts about my job is when I ask "How can I help you?" or "What's the emergency?" or anything else along those lines and it takes forever for the caller to get to a point where I can figure out what they need and how to control the call in order to get the necessary information out of them (Note: If you ever call 911 or a non-emergency police line, get straight to the point. The dispatcher will ask you for exactly what happened when they need it. The first priority is to get officers to your location as fast as possible and let them know what they're dealing with). Recently I've specifically been thinking about contention.

I believe there are different types of contention. The first type is the type mentioned in the Bible when it says contention brings Satan into the home. This type I will call contention for the sake of contention. This is when you argue because no one is willing to admit they were wrong or sit down and figure out a solution. No one actually wants to find a solution, they just want to be right. It's very hard to talk to people like this. There is no point in it. It brings Satan into the home, school, where ever this takes place and once Satan is there, he's not leaving until you make him.

Another type of contention is unaware contention. This is people that don't realize they're being contentious. This happens when someone feels the need to share an opinion every time someone shares something that they don't find funny or don't agree with. All intentions are good, well most of the time. A lot of times this is seen as debating by the unaware contention starter. I actually find this type to be the most annoying. If I lived in an ideal world, everyone would know exactly what they were saying and how it sounds to others. I don't think anyone is innocent of this, but some just do it more than normal.

The last type of contention is what I consider good contention. I find it healthy and convenient. It's not really contention, in my opinion. It has it's uses. What many consider contention is not really contention. It is a way to resolve things. I, personally, hate passive-aggressive behavior. People who run from "contentions" force others into passive-aggressiveness. I think that's just plain rude. Another way contention is good is it gets things out there and fixed faster. When people run from this "contention" it prolongs problems and just causes more problems and eventually you get real contention.

Tune in next week for some other random thought at some random time!