Have you ever met one of those people who will debate anything you say? In fact, it seems to be one of their favorite things to do? I’m learning to identify them more quickly and avoid getting into one of their endless debates that never seem to accomplish anything. When you frequent as many blog websites as I do, you seem to constantly run into these people.
Recently on a financial blog I follow, the subject of charity was discussed. There are numerous studies out there that attempt to correlate people’s success, financial and otherwise, to their charitable giving. Of course some of these professional debaters jumped into the conversation. They vehemently declared it bad statistical analysis and of course they are experts on the subject of statistics. Just because there is a correlation does not mean there is a direct causal relationship. In other words, just because both x and y are true, doesn’t mean that x caused y.
To be honest with you, I don’t really care. Which came first? The chicken or the egg? The fact is, chickens produce eggs and eggs produce chickens. When you’re hungry, it doesn’t really matter which came first. The debate solves nothing. The end result is all I care about. Does giving cause one to receive more? Doesn’t really matter to me. For one thing, I believe giving is important regardless of whether it causes you to receive or not. For another thing, real success and a generous spirit DO seem to go together, so whether one causes the other is unimportant. I want to be successful in life, so I’m going to give.
The comment section is open, so feel free to debate to your heart’s content. Just promise me that when you’re done commenting, you’ll go DO something to change the world. Action not words.