Monday, June 11, 2007

Ephesians 4

As a church body, we each have different gifts and responsibilities. God has created this in His perfect plan, and when things are working together, then the system is really pretty cool. Unfortunately, we are not yet in heaven, so we can only approximate the perfect church in our sinful world, and that means that conflicts will arise and could distract from the perfect plan of God.

We are not supposed to pretend that conflict doesn't happen in the church or put on a false front that claims that everything is good when it is not. In fact, we are encouraged to truthfully deal with these conflicts and get them out in the open. Even so, we should also be aware that this could lead to anger. Sometimes conflicts cannot be resolved peacefully, and that is okay. It's okay to be angry.

"Be angry but do not sin." How is that possible? When you are angry at someone, do not cross the line into hate, do not cross the line into blaming and name calling, and do not let your anger simmer. If you are angry deal with it and settle the issue that day, and be sure that whatever words you speak are wholesome and designed to resolve the issue.

No comments: