Wranglers or Stranglers
Several years ago, at the Univesity of Wisconsin, there was an undergraduate literature club, composed of all male students that went by the name, “The Stranglers.” Only the finest writers were allowed to join this exclusive club.
Meetings of The Stranglers followed a predictable pattern: One of the members would read a story or essay that he had written, while the other members would listen carefully and then offer their criticism, which, in a word, was brutal.
Nothing was held back. No mercy was shown. There were no positive comments. The entire feedback session was nothing but a scathing, demoralizing attack on the student who had written the essay.
Thus the name, The Stranglers.
But there was another club at the University of Wisconsin. A club of all female students who were also talented in literature and literary writing. They called themselves “The Wranglers.”
Like their male counterparts, The Wranglers would read aloud their essays at group meetings, and afterward, offer their critiques. But there was a difference. Unlike, The Stranglers, The Wranglers were more positive, more gentle, and more upbeat and encouraging in their comments.
Twenty years later, a student researcher at the University of Wisconsin conducted a study that followed the careers of both The Stranglers and The Wranglers. The study found that the female students who made up The Wranglers produced over a half dozen of some of the most prominent and successful writers of their day. In contrast, not a single male student, not one Strangler, achieved any kind of literary reputation whatsoever.
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up.” This advice, found in I Thessalonians 5:11 is one of many verses throughout the New Testament instructing us as followers of Jesus to invest our time and energy in helping other disciples become all God is calling them to be.
It’s easy to cast stones, criticize, and point out the weaknesses in others. But God, through His Son, Jesus, calls us to build others up in their faith. We are to come alongside our fellow believers, speaking words of encouragement that inspire them to fulfill God’s great plans and purposes for their lives.
In other words, we are called to be Wranglers and not Stranglers.
Which one are you?
In Christ,
Dan