When I was a kid, roller skating was very popular, and there were many roller skating rinks. Even as a young adult, it was still popular. When we first started as a church, we used to have a roller skating party every month that had five Sundays. We had a Sunday night service back then and would cancel it for roller skating. Everyone was encouraged to invite friends to skate with us. It was a reasonably successful tool for reaching people. When we went to Vietnam on short-term mission trips, the traffic in Saigon and Hanoi reminded me of roller skating. In roller skating and Vietnamese traffic, everyone weaves in and out among each other. There was no system or reason for why people drove where they did. The main rule was to keep track of the traffic in front of you and to dodge and weave as needed to keep from running into someone in front of you. You weren’t responsible for the ones behind you; they were. That is how it was with roller skating: keep track of the people in front of you. The system worked pretty well in Vietnam and roller skating. I live life like that. Romans 12:18 says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.” To be at peace with all men means don’t run into them and avoid wrecks.
People in my life are all different. Some people are very temperamental; they get offended easily. Some are very argumentative; they will debate and argue about anything at the drop of a hat. Some people are Democrats, some are Republicans, some are Beaver fans, and some are Duck fans. Some people are bold and outgoing, and others are shy and introverted. The goal is to maneuver through life without offending anyone, hurting anyone’s feelings, or getting into a heated political argument. It isn’t easy, but you can have mostly peaceful and unified days if you pay attention. For me, this doesn’t mean that there aren’t some things that I am willing to defend or speak up about, but I make sure it is worth it and not simply about winning. I also work hard at communicating in a gracious and honoring way that maintains people’s dignity. I used to have roller skating wrecks, which were not fun, but the more I skated, the fewer wrecks I would have. Most of my bad wrecks were when I was showing off and trying to look cool on my skates. Healthy relationships are worth working at, and making concessions for. Dodge and weave, wrecks are not fun.