"Therefore a sharp disagreement arose so that they were separated from one another. And Barnabas, taking along Mark, sailed to Cyprus. " (Acts 15:39, EMTV)
What are we to do when we have a sharp disagree, an all-out argument, and fight?
An argument is very stressful on the body and has physical and psychological effects?
B1 Physical
C1 Stress hormones released
D1 Cortisol
D2 Epinephrine
C2 These hormones affect
D1 Immune system—lowering its effectiveness
D2 Cardiac system
E1 Raise blood pressure
E2 Make heart work harder for the heart
E3 Raise blood sugar
B2 Psychological
C1 Depression
C2 Anxiety
B3 Image
By Gdudycha (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons
What are we supposed to do in a situation like this?
B1 Both to pray.
C1 For each other
C2 About the situation
B2 Blaming others does not help, so don't.
B3 Walk apart and cool off for awhile. Talk about it tomorrow. Get some sleep.
B4 Think is this situation really that important to get angry, then affect our testimony, work, and witness.
B5 Point out the pros and cons together
B6 Define together the goal, then how to reach that goal
B7 Be humble instead of an attitude of "because I said so."
B8 In this case discuss why it would be better to have John with them or why it would not.
B9 Read 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 together to learn about love.
B10 Consider
C1 "How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony! It is like fine oil on the head, running down on the beard, running down Aaron's beard onto his robes." (Psalms 133:1-2, HCSB)
C2 "Then Abram said to Lot, "Please, let's not have quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, since we are relatives." (Genesis 13:8, HCSB)
C3 "By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." " (John 13:35, HCSB)
C4 "Now I urge you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, that there be no divisions among you, and that you be united with the same understanding and the same conviction." (1 Corinthians 1:10, HCSB)
C5 "...diligently keeping the unity of the Spirit with the peace that binds us. There is one body and one Spirit — just as you were called to one hope at your calling — one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all." (Ephesians 4:3-6, HCSB)
C6 "...fulfill my joy by thinking the same way, having the same love, sharing the same feelings, focusing on one goal. Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus," (Philippians 2:2-5, HCSB)
C7 "Let brotherly love continue." (Hebrews 13:1, HCSB)
C8 "Now finally, all of you should be like-minded and sympathetic, should love believers, and be compassionate and humble," (1 Peter 3:8, HCSB)
C9 "We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. This is how we have come to know love: He laid down His life for us. We should also lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has this world's goods and sees his brother in need but closes his eyes to his need — how can God's love reside in him? Little children, we must not love with word or speech, but with truth and action. This is how we will know we belong to the truth and will convince our conscience in His presence," (1 John 3:14-19, HCSB)
The Greek word for the disagreement is παροξυσμός
B1 It is a strong word for disagreement.
B2 It is a disagreement with strong emotion.
B3 Some other uses in the New Testament
C1 "And in Athens, while Paul waited for them, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was full of idols." (Acts 17:16, EMTV)
C2 "...does not behave disgracefully, does not seek its own, is not provoked to anger, thinks no evil;" (1 Corinthians 13:5, EMTV)
C3 "And let us consider one another for the stirring up of love and of good works," (Hebrews 10:24, EMTV)
B4 In modern Greek it is used among other things for the word "seizure."
As soon as Paul and Barnabas had become Christians were they perfectly mature in the faith, or did they still have to learn? Do Christians need to learn? Who does this teaching? (The Holy Spirit)
Hopefully this will help us to handle a disagreement in a more godly way. If we fail, then we confess our fault and ask forgiveness. This takes humility.
No comments:
Post a Comment