Let the dummies give the answer

Dear very wise pastor/parent/elder/co-worker,

You’ve been blessed with the rare gift of wisdom. Insight, discernment, vision, understanding, answers, solutions come to you as easily as buttering your toast. You see things in a way that most of us never will. We, the not-so-very-wise, are deeply grateful for your intellectual, creative, and far-seeing abilities. Your sage counsel has saved us from lots of foolish choices and damaging decisions.

Now, I know it’s a long way down, but could you bend your ear just for a moment to receive a tip from a lesser mortal? Well, here goes anyway.

Sometimes –  it doesn’t have to be lots of times, just sometimes - let the dummies give the answer.

You don’t need to hold back your wisdom on the BIG questions, the MEGA decisions, but if the opportunity arises on a really small, insignificant, tiny matter (like the time of a meeting, or where to put the trash cans, or the paint-color for the cupboard, etc) why not ask Mr Know-nothing his opinion (he’s probably stopped offering his pathetic views many meetings ago).

Now, of course, it’s never going to be anywhere near as good a proposal as yours. But, if you can do it without choking, why not say, “Mr Know-nothing, that’s a great idea…let’s do it that way!” Don’t tweak it, edit it, “balance” it, or improve it. Just accept it.

You may need to administer CPR the first couple of times you do this but, of course, you know how to do that really well anyway. You’ll still come out looking good.

You can still score the touchdowns, but the team might get more wins if you encouraged the defense, the reserves, and replacements from time to time.

Your pupil,

Mr Lots-to-learn.