Battling Together
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
I once read an article about the lack of cooperation between certain government agencies that described “more harm probably has been done to US counterintelligence over the years by interagency sniping and obstruction than by our enemies.”¹ This shocked me; how could our US government allow internal conflict to put its citizens in danger? Their decision to work against each other rather than together has even had drastic consequences. For example, when speaking of the 9/11 attacks one source describes how the FBI and CIA failed to share information due to the “so-called ‘Wall’ between law enforcement and intelligence.”² Rather than focussing on how to defeat their enemy at hand, their pride got in the way and hindered any sort of cooperation. It led me to think that unfortunately, we have the same sort of conflicts in our churches. Rather than praying and working together in one body, we attack and hinder each other, oftentimes due to our pride. I have seen this happen on three different levels: personal, familial, and congregational.
Personal
At times we allow the Holy Spirit to work with us and we cooperate. Our faith pushes us to trust God to do things beyond our wildest dreams. I can think back on a small, young shepherd boy who couldn’t handle the weight of some armor, yet was able to slay a giant with some stones. David trusted in God and was absolutely sure that He would enable him to defeat the Philistines. But then we see a plot twist later in David’s life. This courageous young boy, who killed Goliath, allowed his temptation to get the best of him and he cowardly sent one of his men, Uriah, to the front lines to die after lying with his wife, Bathsheba. Afterwards, he had an internal conflict and Nathan rebuked him. He told him a story of a rich man who took everything from a poor man, and ironically David became heated with anger. Nathan corrected David and allowed him to see that he was this man; David wept and fasted as God punished him with the illness, and eventual death of his son. David wasn’t tempted by somebody else, but his own desires got the best of him. He didn’t stop himself from lusting and ended up hurting himself, Bathsheba, and their child that God took away.
Familial
The second type of situation in which I have seen us tearing each other down is within our families. The clearest example I can think of is Joseph and his brothers. Joseph’s brothers couldn’t stand the thought of their youngest brother being favored by their father, or even the thought of him being special. Their jealousy overtook them and they sold him into slavery. He suffered and went through difficult times alone in a foreign country. His father also suffered and “mourned for his son many days” and “refused to be comforted.”³ Joseph must have internalized so much pain as well as his father, and even his brothers as they said their father would die if their youngest brother Benjamin did not return. They pleaded with Joseph explaining that their other younger brother was “torn to pieces” and their father “has not seen him since.”⁴ Rather than encouraging and uplifting their younger brother who was born with a unique gift, Joseph’s brothers allowed their envy to get in the way and essentially left him to die in the hands of a slaver. It wasn’t an outsider or an enemy who came to take Joseph away, but his own blood sold him out of jealousy.
Congregational
The final type of clashes I see in our churches is within our congregations. Jesus Himself was betrayed by His own people and sent to be crucified on the cross. First off, Judas, one of the men in Jesus’ inner circle betrayed Him with a kiss. It was not one of Pilate’s men who searched for Jesus, but Judas plainly showed them where he was. Secondly, the same people that witnessed Jesus’ countless miracles and that shouted Hosanna that same week, yelled crucify Him come Friday. We saw no sense of unity or love amongst the greater congregation but hatred and harshness. The love that Christ showed these people daily was lost due to schisms and evil.
I will admit that in these 3 examples, good came from the tribulations, by God’s grace. Yes, the Psalms wouldn’t have been the same without David’s experiences, and yes, Egypt probably wouldn’t have made it through the famine without Joseph, and yes, salvation and life came through Jesus and His crucifixion. However, this doesn’t change the fact that people did wrong in these 3 examples. It was not right for David to lose self-control in lust, nor for Joseph’s brothers to boldly betray Him, nor for Christ’s own people to so easily send him to death on the cross. The scripture clearly tells us “God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.”⁵ I pray that we would all work with the Holy Spirit who constantly encourages us, our families who surely love us, and our congregations who, in Christ, share one body with us.
Various Exhortations
And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves.
Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:12–18
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[1]: The 10 Commandments of Counterintelligence
[2]: 10 Years After 9/11
[3]: Gen. 37:34–35
[4]: Gen. 44:28
[5]: 1 Cor. 12:24–26
