Euodia and Syntyche -Pt 8

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).

We reach our final destination in the Apostle Paul’s encouragement to Euodia and Syntyche’s volatile situation. He pens a beautiful portion of Scripture saturated with both the peace of God (v. 7) and the God of peace (v. 9). Now, we do need to be honest with ourselves, we can’t resolve every conflict. Some opponents truly are “dogs” and “evildoers” (cf. Philippians 3:2), “enemies of the cross of Christ” (cf. Philippians 3:18). There are times we must stand firm in the Lord and not budge against such opponents (cf. Philippians 4:1). HOWEVER, Christians must not treat others, especially other believers, as opponents. We’ll be together with the Lord for eternity, so Jesus would have us get a head start on learning to live in his peace. I hesitated even writing that last bit of thought. For me, I have found it much easier to think of all my opponents as “dogs” and enemies.” The truth is that folks that disagree with me are neither. I simply misjudge them, and further have no right to judge at all. I ought to be much more careful about my “pay grade.” Judging others, most of the time, is well above either my rank or pay grade! The ability to apply wisdom toward my thoughts about others is given by the apostle as he finishes his letter. He desires us to find good role models and continue practicing these things (v. 9). Paul endured plenty of opposition from fellow believers (cf. Philippians 1:12-20). He knew what it’s like to be mistreated, maligned, and envied by those who are supposed to be on the same team. He learned how to rejoice in the Lord and his gospel through difficult conflicts. He’s shown us how one behaves when the God of peace is with him. Follow that example and you won’t go far off course. If there are those you have disregarded or shunned commit yourself to making that relationship right as far as is possible for you. The God of peace is with you!