I have observed that narrow-minded people don’t grow; they freeze, become brittle and often break. Open-minded people are not afraid to learn from anyone, anywhere, anytime. This is a lesson I have tried to learn and apply to my life.

Today, I learned at a Raytown Chamber of Commerce luncheon. Raytown is the city whose border divides our church lobby down the center with Kansas City. I have enjoyed attending Chamber luncheons as a way to meet people in my community. At today’s luncheon Mayor Sue Frank gave her state of the city address for the last time before she steps aside after an extremely effective eight-year administration as the city’s first female mayor. It was a passionate, gutsy performance from a woman whose leadership I have grown to admire.

Mayor Frank spoke of the ethics of governing. It was obviously not a religious speech, nor would that have been appropriate in such a setting. But, what she said was pregnant with biblical principle, and she freely spoke of prayer as a bedrock principle in her term as mayor. She quoted a book, How Good People Make Tough Choices: Resolving the Dilemmas of Ethical Living by Rushworth M. Kidder, that greatly influenced her.

Basically, we tend to look at life as discerning between right and wrong. Christians sometimes think this is the only possibility. Mayor Frank reminded us that many of life’s conflicts come when we must decide between right and right. In those cases we decide between two viable options by deciding which of the choices provides for the greater good. Christians are often faced with this challenge of right versus right. The issue is not right versus wrong, but which right is more consistent with God’s truth, plan and mission. When was the last time you had to face a right versus right decision? Are you facing a right versus right issue right now?