Two Wrongs Do Make a Right

A negative times a negative equals a positive.

I've had to teach this to the kids at the camp I have been working at all sumer long and it has brought back memories of when I learned it myself. I did not like math at all in 4^th - 6^th grade, and I was not incredibly good at it either. But I think it is reasonable to wonder why in the world a negative and a negative make a positive. Even now it is one of those things I just do without really knowing why it has to be that way.

I guess it makes sense if you act it out, though. If you walk backwards, then turn around and walk backwards again, you've really gone forwards. But going forwards, then turning around and going forwards again would give you backwards and a positive and a positive don't make a negative. On top of that one person's forwards is another person's backwards, so the direction is ultimately relative anyway. Hmm.

This whole double negative thing comes up in language too. A double negative doesn't not mean a positive. Granted, it is redundantly poor grammar, but we do use this structure of speech fairly often to drive home a point.

So, so far two wrongs are: questionably necessary, confusing, and often redundant.

But I think I finally found a way that they bring truth and beauty to our lives. And sorry to all trying to teach character values such as respect, but this does show that ultimately two wrongs do make a right (not always, but they can).

Sin + death = salvation.

The evil of our sins combined with the wrongful death of Jesus (two wrongs) combine mystically to provide for our salvation (a right if ever there was one). It may not make sense, but it is definitely necessary.

I am not approving of insulting those who insult you. But if you do, at least let that lead your mind to the one time when a wrong heaped on a whole mound of wrongs resulted in a glorious blessing. Know that God showed us that it is possible that two wrongs can't not make a right.