Letters From The Inside

Doesn’t it sometimes seem like there are some people you just can’t get along with? I once travelled half way around the world with a guy that just grated on my nerves. I’m not entirely sure why, but it was mostly the little stuff. Small habits and mannerisms that irked me. I know I’m not perfect, and no doubt he felt the same way about me!We all have different personalities, and some personalities gel better than others. Some of the issues we have with other people are nothing more than personality clashes. I’m sure you can think of a couple of people right now that just get on your nerves. That someone might even be a family member!

Paul ends his letter to the Philippians with a note to a couple of people in the church that were fighting so much, word had reached him in prison of the discord. 

1 Therefore, 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! 2 I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. 3 Yes, 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.      

So Euodia and Syntyche  obviously cannot seem to agree with each other. Paul’s advice might have been “Just stay away from each other” and I think that’s how we deal with those people in our lives. But Paul urges them to not avoid each other, but to agree with each other. One of my favorite parts of the Bible is a line in Psalm 133 where God says He will bless us when we live in unity. With some people it’s easy to “live in unity.” We have the same interests, similar personalities and sense of humor. But Paul isn’t talking about them. He’s talking about the people that annoy you, or drive you crazy. People that you steer away from when you see them coming. Paul says to agree with those people IN THE LORD. In the Lord, means that you’re doing it for God, which makes it worth doing, no matter how hard it is!

The startling and unpleasant epiphany I had about the guy that got on my nerves was that the things I disliked in him, I recognized and hated in myself. I hate to admit it, but I exhibited a lot of the traits that bothered me about him. The personality trait I’d like to possess is the one Paul valued so highly: the one of getting along with others!

Pastor Sam

This entry was posted on Monday, August 27th, 2007 at 4:23 pm and is filed under Chapter 4. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.