Dolly Parton died this week at the age of 80, and almost immediately, the stories began. There were stories about her music, of course. Jolene. 9 to 5. I Will Always Love You. There were stories about her business prowess, her generosity, and a career that lasted nearly 60 years.
But what stood out to me among the thousands of tributes was how many people seemed to agree on one thing: Everybody seemed to like Dolly Parton. That’s pretty impressive having spent so many years in the public eye.
Her fans included people who probably couldn’t agree on much else. Country music fans and pop music fans. People on the left and people on the right. Grandmas liked her, and young people liked her.
How did she do that?
Maybe part of the answer is that she didn’t take herself too seriously. She joked about her hair, clothes, and figure.
And yet she was comfortable with who she was. She didn’t lose her Tennessee accent when she became famous. She kept her rhinestones when critics called them cheap. And she didn’t hide her Christian faith when it became unfashionable.
She also didn’t think every difference of opinion required an argument. Of course, she had opinions like everyone else, but she resisted attempts to get her to choose sides and said she loved everybody.
But she didn’t just talk about loving people. Inspired by her father, who never learned to read or write, she founded Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which has given hundreds of millions of books to children. When people lost their homes to wildfires, she stepped up to help. She supported scholarships, hospitals, and many other causes.
Maybe the reason so many people liked Dolly Parton is because she seemed to like them first. Maybe there is something Christians can learn from that.
We aren’t called to make everyone agree with us, but neither are we called to make disagreement as unpleasant as possible. Paul says: “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men” (Romans 12:18).
As much as depends on you.
Notice Paul doesn’t say everyone will like us. He doesn’t even say peace will always be possible. Jesus was very clear that following Him would sometimes bring opposition. But as far as it depends on us, we should pursue peace.
Sometimes standing for what we believe will cost us approval. Jesus said to expect that. But when people dislike us, it shouldn’t be because we were unnecessarily harsh, eager to argue, or unwilling to listen. There’s a difference between being disliked because of what we believe and being disliked because of the way we behave.
Dolly herself seemed to understand that being kind didn’t require being a pushover. When Elvis Presley wanted to record I Will Always Love You, she was excited – until his manager demanded that she give up half of the publishing rights. Dolly said no. She admitted she cried all night over her decision, but she didn’t change it.
Being gracious doesn’t mean changing your convictions or giving up what truly matters. We can stand firmly for what we believe without being eager to fight or treating people as enemies.
Dolly Parton said she loved everybody. Maybe. But Christians do have a pretty big reason to love others: “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
Will everyone like us?
Probably not.
But as much as depends on us, maybe we should give them every opportunity to.
For more thought-provoking topics, tune in to Hope 100.7.
God bless you. Stay hopeful! ❤️
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