Philippians 4:2-3
2 I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to agree in the Lord. 3 Yes, I also ask you, true partner, to help these women who have contended for the gospel at my side, along with Clement and the rest of my coworkers whose names are in the book of life.
What it seems we have here is a couple of believing ladies in the early church who, though they have fought hard for the gospel itself, have started arguing between each other about less important things. Scripture doesn’t mention what their hot-button issue is, but I think a lot of us can fill in the blank with some similar situation we’ve seen or experienced in a church setting: two camps of people disagree on something, blow the whole thing up, and the entire church body is left temporarily reeling, or even permanently crippled.
I remember once talking to someone who was leaving their church because the whole congregation was up-in-arms regarding a sanctuary re-carpeting project, and the church was imploding as a result. I’m not even kidding. And while I understand that’s a pretty extreme example, it’s obvious Euodia and Syntyche are not the only ones who have gotten distracted from important gospel work as a result of petty arguments.
What we need in our church family is “to be of the same mind in the Lord.” Keeping our eyes focused on the things that God considers important – loving and obeying Jesus, who died for our sins and offers us salvation as we rest on His righteousness alone; living in loving community with other believers; seeking and serving the lost – is how we keep ourselves from getting wrapped up in our own personal issues and rendering ourselves ineffective for the Kingdom.
The world does not need one more Jersey Shore. (I would argue it might actually need one less, but maybe I’m alone in that.) Purposeless, distracting drama can be found pretty much anywhere you turn, but this should not be true within the church. The church needs to be a place where we can focus on The Most Important Thing together, and offer grace to each other when we may disagree on issues of secondary importance.
Heavenly Father, we pray You would help Candeo Church to be united in mind and mission to worship You, serve each other, and share Your great news in the Cedar Valley and beyond. Help us to truly value the things You value, and to move forward motivated by those things alone. Thank You for Your Son, who prayed that His disciples would be one, just as You and He and the Spirit are one. I pray that You would empower us by Your Holy Spirit to actively live as united disciples. Amen.
