Well, in that reading, the Apostle Paul gives us quite a list of things that are what he calls “acts of the sinful nature”, and also a pretty good list of things that are the fruit of the Holy Spirit. We obviously don’t have time to go through all of them in detail today, so I’m just going to discuss one aspect of them. Paul says that acts of the sinful nature include “discord, dissensions, and factions”. And he says the fruit of the spirit is “peace, patience, and gentleness”.
The reason I’m choosing these is that I think these are things almost all of us struggle with. I mean, all the acts of the sinful nature are bad, of course, but some of us are not tempted with things like witchcraft of fits of rage or drunkenness. But almost all of us are subject to doing things and saying things that lead to discord and dissension and factions.
What those terms mean, basically, are that we all are tempted to say things or do things that make people mad, that divide us, that separate us from each other. Now, we usually don’t think of it that way. We don’t usually sit down and say, “I think I’ll say something that’s going to start an argument. I think I’ll go out of my way to make people choose sides and be upset with each other.” We don’t usually think that way at all.
What we do, though, sometimes, is insist that we’re right. And by doing so, we also insist that anyone who disagrees with us has to be wrong. Now again, we don’t usually do this with bad intent. We’re convinced that we really are right. And we’re convinced that if people would just think about it more, they’d realize we’re right. And we’re convinced that everybody would be better off if they’d just realize we’re right. Our intentions often are good. But the way we follow through on those intentions is not.
Now, obviously, we all have a right to have opinions. And we have a right to express our opinions. But we need to do that in a way that does not lead to the acts of the sinful nature. We need to express our opinions in a way that does not lead to discord and dissension and factions. We need to express our opinions in a way that leads to peace. We need to express our opinions with patience and gentleness.
You see, when the followers of Jesus are divided, when there’s dissension among us, when we split up into factions, we cannot be as effective. We cannot do as good a job of bringing people to God. Christians arguing among themselves, no matter what they’re arguing about, does not serve God.
Now, that does not mean we need to agree on everything. We can disagree, and we can discuss the things we disagree about. But again, those discussions need to take place with a peaceful spirit. They need to take place with patience and gentleness. They need to take place with an effort to understand where the other person is coming from. They need to take place with an understanding that we can disagree and still be friends. They need to take place with an understanding that you can disagree with me and be a faithful follower of Christ, and I can disagree with you and be a faithful follower of Christ. We can disagree, but still be united in our love of God, in our desire to serve God, and in our desire to share God’s word and show God’s love to others.
This sounds good and logical and maybe even obvious in theory, but it can be a lot harder to practice. I have trouble with it sometimes myself. I’m a lot better than I used to be, but I’m still tempted all the time to get into arguments about stuff. I’m still convinced that I’m right about a lot of things. It’s a temptation I always have to fight.
And one of the ways I fight it is to ask myself this question: “If I get into an argument about that, how’s it going to help anything?” And the answer, most of the time, is that it’s not. It’s not going to help anything. I won’t convince the other person I’m right. All we’ll do is get mad at each other. And then the people observing us will start to take sides. And pretty soon we’re all divided and upset with each other. And we’re that much farther away from bringing people to Christ.
So maybe that’ll work for you, too. The next time you’re tempted to say something that might lead to an argument, ask yourself, “How’s that going to help anything?” If it’s not, then maybe don’t say it. Or maybe find a different way to say it, a way that won’t lead to dissension. And if someone disagrees, maybe just let it go. Or, if not, just realize that the person who disagrees is just as well-intentioned as we are, and wants what’s best just like we do.
Discord, dissensions, and factions are not fruits of the Holy Spirit. Peacefulness, patience, and gentleness are. So let’s try to speak and act in ways that promote peacefulness, patience, and gentleness every chance we get.
No comments:
Post a Comment