Philippians 4: 1-3
Note: For the Summer we are reprinting some devotions that ran back when we were getting this site up and running. Hopefully this is new content to you, and we will get back into writing fresh devotions as our schedule allows.
1Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends! 2I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. 3Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.
I feel bad for Euodia and Syntyche, and not just because their parents hated them (I know this because their parents gave them such awful names!), but because when we get into a fight, maybe our friends hear about it, and sometimes the whole school hears about it. But in this case, everyone who's read the New Testament for the last 2,000 years has heard of their fight! I wonder what it was? Part of me thinks it was probably a fight over what color the new church carpet should be. Or maybe it had to do with whether the Bible study should be on Mondays or Tuesdays. Whatever it was, these were mature Christian women who got into the Bible for their fighting. I read this as Paul saying, "Oh come on... Just get over it already!"
And how many times do we fight with people over stupid stuff, when the whole world is at stake? What would happen if we shifted our thinking from getting our own way to how to win the lost more effectively? Why does this stuff always consume us?
Here's a trick I've learned: "I'm sorry, you're right, I'm an idiot" Say that and fights end almost instantly. There are times when you'll have to stand up to someone, but most of the time it's just petty. Our church secretary Lynnette says we need to learn to be more like ducks, and allow all of the bad things to just roll off our backs.
-Jeff-
