To my friends and neighbors in Wilmington: I get around supplying pulpits in Southwest Ohio, and I hear stories of rudeness and aggression — on the road and elsewhere. After months of traffic disruption on Rombach Avenue, I am heartened by the grace and consideration I have seen and experienced, both by drivers yielding to others, and by folks in general.

Thank you. I brag on you.

Increasingly, we see and hear stories of angry confrontations — on airliners, in stores, at public meetings … people “asserting their ‘rights’.” Lately, I’m beginning to hear push-back, from athletes, newscasters and others, admonishing us to have some empathy for each other and end our “entitlement” mentality.

Good. Just because I may have some “right”, doesn’t mean I must exercise it — especially if it infringes on someone else’s.

An old joke: George Washington could not tell a lie. I’m better than Washington; I can tell a lie, but I won’t.

No joke: “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are beneficial.” (St. Paul, I Corinthians 6:12).

Pastor Doug Campbell

Wilmington