Euodia and Syntyche - Pt 3

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:4-9 ESV).

The second step in resolving conflict that the Apostle Paul lists is found in his command to “let your reasonableness be known to everyone” (v. 5a). Simply put, our goal should be achieving an attitude and practice of being the most open and teachable party. I like Jesus’ teaching on the topic. One writer paraphrases that teaching as “Publicly amputate your own optical log before attempting any speck-removal surgery” (cf. Matthew 7:3). I’d be less verbally precise and say: Keep your cool; don’t play the part of the wounded critter by rushing into public announcements, blog posts, Face Book rants, or back-alley conversations that slam your rivals. Of course, there are those issues that demand a measured, Scripturally supported answer that may even elicit a conversation or debate. After all, there are plenty of debatable issues among Christians. These are those valid topics on which reasonable believers disagree. However, the life of a believer ought to be marked by freedom from judgment and condemnation because of the work of Jesus on the cross, so we should give one another a wide berth. This does mean we cannot tolerate any part of our life that would resemble hatred of others. Hatred can find no place in the body of Christ and we must be relentless on this front. The Bible warns that there will come a time when the love of many will grow cold and that people will fall away, betray, and hate one another (cf. Matthew 24:10-13). Jesus is describing a time of spiritual and interpersonal ugliness that permeates even the visible church. Just this ought to drive us to be reasonable in our relationships with others. The key is in the separation of sin from sinner. We can accomplish this position only when we recognize our own failures and short-comings. I simply cannot speak with the same authority as Jesus on every topic. Sometimes we just need to find that point of agreement, even if it is in the disagreement. Be reasonable!