Abraham Lincoln was a man who believed in compromise. When he was practicing law in Illinois, a farmer asked for Lincoln’s help in getting a divorce from his wife.
Lincoln asked, “What seems to be the trouble?”
“It’s our house,” said the farmer angrily. “I want to paint it brown, and she wants to paint it white. We got into a big argument about it.”
After calming the man down, Lincoln suggested that he go back to his wife and try to work out a compromise. The farmer was very doubtful that any such solution was possible, but he agreed to try. Lincoln told him to come back in four weeks.
After four weeks, the farmer returned to Lincoln’s office saying, “There is no need to start proceedings against my wife. We’ve made up — compromise is how we did it.”
A pleased Lincoln asked, “How did you manage it?”
“Well,” said the farmer, “we decided to paint the house white.”
Maybe this is why Scottish novelist Robert Louis Stevenson said, “Compromise is the best and cheapest lawyer.”
I have a similar story about my marriage to Carol Ann. I was recently asked how we have managed to stay together for 64 years. I replied that when we got married, we agreed that Carol Ann would make all the minor decisions, and I would make the major decisions. Luckily, there have never been any major decisions.