“Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited” (Romans 12:16). These are not suggestions; these are orders from the apostle Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. So, in reality, these are orders from God.
The world is full of friction, children fighting each other, parents arguing and fighting over all sorts of things, gangs fighting over their so-call territory, government officials fighting over who gets to make the rules that govern our nation, mostly over who gets the tax dollar. Nations fighting over which nation has the right to rule in certain areas of the world and who gets to invade who. These are some of the problems that the world we live in has every second of every day.
It seems that there are some people who have the natural instinct to hurt others. Just watch a bunch of young children, and sooner or later you will see the bully start pushing and shoving the other children. And before you get self-righteous, and say that you are not like that, just put your memory in gear, and you will remember when you have been a bully in your life. Deep down inside all of us there is that sin nature that tells us that we should demand our own way, even if we have to take advantage of, or hurt others, to have our way.
In Proverbs we read, “He who trusts in himself is a fool” (Proverbs 28:26). And when a person is hurting or taking advantage of other people, he or she is demanding their own way and becoming a fool in the process.
The writer of Hebrews wrote, “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). Living in peace with other men and women is sometimes a hard task; even to get along with other professing Christians is not always easy. Many people hated Jesus when He walked on this earth, and the apostles argued over who would be the greatest. Let’s face it, the world is full of sinners.
Paul wrote, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3). James wrote, “If you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil” (James 3:14-15).
Selfish ambition is one of the problems in our world. Everyone wants to fulfill his or her own selfish ambition. And almost no one wants to consider others better than themselves. It is usually: “I deserve that more than they do.” Take selfish ambition and arrogance out of this world and you will solve many of its problems.
James wrote, “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God” (James 4:1-2). Many of the problems in this world are created by the selfish desires of humanity; and most people never think about asking the Lord for something they want or need. They have put God out of their minds and are totally ruled by their flesh. And Paul said that those who are ruled by their flesh will not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:21). That is a firm warning to all that are constantly ruled by their fleshly desires.
Paul wrote, “If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other” (Galatians 5:15). This statement is so true; I know of many instances where both sides of a disagreement ended up with hurt feelings that took years to get over. Good friends have become bitter enemies over silly arguments and disagreements.
I believe that we should make every effort to be at peace with people, but I also know that it is impossible to please everyone. We do not have to allow people to run over us, and take advantage of us, just to get along with them. There are times when the best thing we can do is to put some distance between certain people and ourselves. It is not easy for us to keep ourselves out of problems with other people; we have to work at it.
Life is full of choices and most of the time we speak and act too quickly. The psalmist wrote, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him-Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips (Psalm 37:7; Psalm 141:3). James wrote, “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (James 1:19). Both of these verses remind me of so many times when I should have listened more and talked less, and not let myself become angry. We need to be more patient with each other and ourselves.
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18). Each of us has our own personality and temperaments. Our opinions and interest may conflict with another person’s opinion and interest; but we can disagree without getting angry. There are limits in trying to get along with another person. Peace must not be sought at any price; we must not displease God just to have a good relationship with another person.
Peter wrote, “Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble” (1 Peter 3:8). We were not created to fight among ourselves, we were created to do good works for each other (Ephesians 2:10).
Carlin Lawrence