Work at getting along with each other and with God. Otherwise you’ll never get so much as a glimpse of God. Make sure no one gets left out of God’s generosity. Keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed can ruin a whole garden in no time. [Hebrews 12:14-15 (MSG)]
“Compromise” and “cooperation” are words we hear all too rarely when it comes to our government. Illinois, with a $206 billion debt, has been operating without a budget for nearly a year because Republicans, Democrats and the governor can’t come to an agreement. Although Illinois managed to continue most operations this past year, the state’s poorest and neediest residents suffered the most. If an agreement isn’t reached by July 1, there will be additional shutdowns, more programs cut, schools will lose funding and all road projects will stop. Unfortunately, the winning of political arguments has become more important than serving the people.
The early Christian church nearly failed because of another heated dispute. Fortunately, unlike the Illinois legislature, cooler heads prevailed. Some of the early Jewish converts believed that Jesus’ message was for Jews alone. If a Gentile wanted to become Christian, he first had to become Jewish, undergo circumcision, and follow Jewish law (which didn’t sit well with the Gentiles.) To settle this argument, Paul and Barnabus went to Jerusalem to meet with the church elders. Everyone listened quietly as the men calmly shared their experiences with the Gentiles. Wisely, James turned to scripture for the final word and quoted the Old Testament prophecies showing the Messiah came for all people, not just the Jews.
Although the council decided that Gentiles did not have to become Jews to become Christians, there still were issues that disturbed the Jews about Gentile behavior. In the interest of the church, the Council found middle ground by asking the Gentiles to abstain from sexual immorality, eating food sacrificed to idols, consuming blood or eating the meat of strangled animals. While God certainly doesn’t condone compromising His standards, He does expect us to live in peace with one another and not to let differences cause dissension among His people. Because they quietly listened to one another, considered different points of view, made concessions, and turned to scripture for the final word, the message of Christ continued to spread to Jews and Gentiles alike. Differences were set aside to better serve both God and man. The council knew who they were serving; apparently the Illinois General Assembly doesn’t.
Within a day of having written yesterday’s words about trusting Jesus and following Him, God reminded me how difficult it is to actually do that. Granted, it wasn’t God’s voice we were following but His point was well taken. Mid-way through our 1,400 mile drive north, the GPS cautioned us of one accident after another within a few miles ahead of us. After the first such warning, I studied the map trying to find a detour but couldn’t seem to find a route that wouldn’t lead us right back into the accident area and the promised lane closures. When five accidents lay right in our path, not wanting to spend hours in a traffic jam, we reluctantly decided to let the GPS lead us around the congestion. Following its guidance, my husband exited the interstate while I kept trying to figure out what route we’d be taking. Although the GPS screen always indicated the direction of the next turn, we never knew the long-range plan for returning to the highway. We simply had to trust the GPS and take it one turn at a time. Of course, with my trusty map, I tried to second-guess the GPS the entire way. I just couldn’t cede complete control to that sweet calm voice directing us. Without any help from me, however, that voice got us back on the interstate well north of all of the accidents and congestion.
Yesterday, I wrote about unfounded fears. Although I’m a bit of a nervous flyer, I’d rather travel than stay home, so I pray and fly. While I’m a little nervous about heights, I’d rather ride than hike up the mountain, so I pray and ride the lifts. Since my little Ziggy-like guy can easily capture my irrational fears, they rarely plague me. It’s not fear of external things like plane crashes or gondola accidents, however, that disturb me. Instead, it’s the fear that happens when I focus on me instead of God. Will I be wounded, bothered, abandoned or tested? What if I don’t succeed, reach my goal, or make a good impression? Will I be welcome? What if I make a mistake?
Bad things happen, unforeseen events occur, and every one of us will eventually become a fatality statistic of some kind. A certain amount of fear or caution is wise in our unpredictable world. Most of us, however, are rather selective in our fears. We obsess over things about which we have little or no control and ignore those things over which we do. We don’t want to give up control to the pilot when the odds of dying in a plane crash are 1 in 11 million but trust our driving when the odds of a fatal car crash are 1 in 5 thousand! While we are far more likely to die of heart disease (1 in 6), we tend to obsess about things like dying in a terrorist attack (1 in 20 million). In actuality, we are fourteen times more likely to die in our bathtubs and twenty-five times more likely to die by choking on our food than in a terrorist attack, but we prefer not to think about that while bathing or eating.
Devotions of the Heart 