Have you ever had a fly that just would not leave you alone? You swat it away, and three seconds later it’s right back, buzzing around your head. It keeps coming and coming and refuses to give you any peace.
That’s what it can feel like when someone appoints themselves Chief Deputy of the Accuracy Police Department.
I know a spouse who tends to do this. Her husband will say, “Last week, we were eating at Wendy’s.” She immediately chimes in, “No, it was McDonald’s.”
He then starts telling a story about a trip they took to the Bahamas. Again, she jumps in: “It was actually a different island.” She continues correcting him, and with each interruption, he becomes more and more annoyed.
I’m not sure what it is in us that feels compelled to correct others when we think their facts are slightly off, but it’s a temptation worth resisting.
Just last night, my son slipped into accuracy police mode. No matter what I said, he felt the need to disagree or fine-tune my perspective.
I said, “Pulling a trailer lowers your gas mileage.”
He quickly responded, “Not if you coast down hills and use that speed to climb the next hill without hitting the gas.”
It’s annoying when someone accuracy-polices me, and it’s no fun watching others do it to each other either.
Once, I watched my kids get into a full blown argument over whether they were sitting in the third or fifth row at a game that happened more than a year ago. The debate escalated to the point where someone was tempted to dig up the ticket stubs just to prove the other person wrong.
So, if you tend to serve on the Accuracy Police force, consider resigning your position and letting your spouse be wrong, at least about the small stuff.
And if you’re married to someone who seems to have been sworn in as a permanent Chief Officer of the Truth Squad, bear with one another in love. When people are tired, stressed, or overwhelmed, they aren’t operating at their best. Accuracy policing shows up most often during those moments.
Action Item:
Don’t be the spouse Proverbs describes as a “constant dripping,” or the one it says would make someone prefer living on the corner of a roof rather than sharing a home with constant nitpicking.
Listen.
Love.
Respect.
And turn in your badge. Resign from the Accuracy Police Department.
