As we jump in this morning, I want us to read our text together: READ Romans 12:16
There are certain sounds in music that can only be made when multiple notes are played together. These musical textures are pleasing to the ear when different notes complement each other and work in conjunction with one another to create harmony. The Beach Boys, Simon and Garfunkel, The Eagles, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers built careers on harmony.
But creating harmony is not easy. There are numerous combinations of notes you can play
on an instrument, but if they don’t play in conjunction with one another, they make ear-grating noise. Only the right combination of specific notes can make a beautiful, pleasing harmony.
We are in a new series where we are looking at the various one another commands in the New
Testament. The very phrase, “one another” contains the idea of togetherness. So, as we have been going through the “one another” passages, we have not been surprised to find things like; love one another, encourage one another, serve one another, and even to admonish and teach one another.
And this morning, Paul urges us to, “Live in harmony with one another”. He goes on to say, “Do not be proud but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.” Several other verses in the New Testament echo the same sentiment.
Just like music, Harmony is not easy in the church either. It never has been.
I told you a couple of weeks ago about Paul and Barnabas who worked together on their first missionary journey. When it came time to head out again, they couldn’t agree on whether to take John Mark, who had bailed on them halfway through the first trip.
They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for
Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left.
Later in Paul’s journey, he had to deal with two contentious women in the church at Philippi. Now, these are two ladies were fellow workers who were making a tremendous impact in the church. But listen to Paul’s heartfelt urgency when he implores in Philippians. 4:2, “I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord.”
Can’t you two ladies please get along with each other? You both do so much for the kingdom, it doesn’t make any sense for you to be bitter and jealous and bickering with each other.
Harmony is no easier in the church today. We could take all day and swap ridiculous stories
we have all seen and heard of Christians not living in harmony, and its often over the stupidest things.
Things that in the scope of the kingdom don’t really matter. Things that compared to what we could accomplish together are completely insignificant.
But let’s make this a little more personal. What about me? What about you? With whom do you want to
have nothing to do? Who is it that you try to avoid at all costs and why?
Paul says, “Live in harmony with one another.” The problem with this verse is it’s too clear. He gives no exceptions. He allows no outs. Paul doesn’t say live in harmony with those who have the same opinion as you or people you like to hang out with. He simply says, “Live in harmony with one another.”
And there is an implied, “you”. All of you, with all your differences and beautiful uniqueness’s and individuality, live in harmony with one another.
And the question is how is such harmony even possible? This seems like some idealistic pipe dream that we’ll never experience in the real world and yet, it’s what we’re being called to do; live in harmony.
To experience this reality, we must first understand exactly what Paul is asking of us. “Live in harmony” is the attempt at translating an idea rather than the specific words used here. Literally he says, “Have the same mind.” “Be like-minded.” “Be of one mind”
Now this doesn’t mean we all have to have the same opinion or have the same personalities. What he’s callings us to do here is to have the same mindset, the same outlook. He says that we need to think about each other a certain way.
How do we do this? Well, I want to look at few other verses that build on this idea of living in harmony
or being like-minded, because they point us in the direction we need to go.
1 Peter 3:8, “Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.”
I want to draw your attention to two related ideas here, sympathy and compassion. I know we know what these words mean. At least we know them here in our head, but we need to know them in our hearts. Actually, we need to know them in our guts. Let me explain.
The word translated compassion comes from a word that literally means to strengthen from the spleen.
It refers to the intestines, your guts. This is why the Old King James says, “the bowels of compassion.”
We don’t normally associate the bowels and compassion, but they were trying to communicate the
Greek words here. The ancients viewed the internal organs of the abdomen as the seat of emotions.
Look at it this way. When it comes to compassion, we are to feel it in our guts.
The word translated sympathetic here means to suffer with. Peter isn’t talking about just a few kind words, but we are to feel for each other way deep down in our bowels.
To quote the old saying, “put yourself in their shoes” gets at the idea, but it’s more than that. It is to
genuinely try to feel and experience what they are feeling and experiencing. How does it seem to them?
How do they see it? How does it feel to be where they are?
There is something about people suffering together, people who have felt a common experience that binds them together, no matter what other differences they have.
That’s what the church should be. We can be that when we have sympathy and compassion for one another. We can create a harmony that unites us regardless of whatever else might divide us.
Let’s look at another ingredient of living in harmony, another way we can be of the same mind.
1 Peter 5:5, “Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another.”
This doesn’t mean that we put on humility like a shirt for a while, then take it off. It’s not a costume. Clothe literally means to tie on; to attach it to yourself with a knot.
Humility doesn’t come naturally to us. By nature, we are full of ourselves. We give way to pride and have way to high of an opinion of ourselves. Humility is something we must put on, but it isn’t easy. We have to tie it on and cinch it in place.
The word humility here contains the idea of being lowly or insignificant. Peter isn’t telling us to have
poor self-esteem or to lack self-confidence. It’s a call to have a correct opinion of ourselves.
You see pride and low self-esteem have something in common, and that is they both put all the focus on self. It’s all about me, myself, and I.
True humility is not thinking about yourself in the first place. It is thinking of the other person first. What we want, what we think, what we feel isn’t the most important thing. When we all want to put our own opinions and feelings first, we will never have harmony.
Leonard Bernstein was once asked which instrument was the most difficult to play. He thought for a
moment and then replied, "The second fiddle. I can get plenty of first violinists, but to find someone
who can play the second fiddle with enthusiasm - that’s a problem. And if we have no second fiddle, we
have no harmony."
Earlier in the verse, Peter uses the word submission. Now Peter was referring to a specific group, but we
are all called to submit to one another in the church.
Ephesians 5:21 says, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
The biblical word for submit paints a beautiful picture. It means to line yourself up under. In the 1st Century this word was commonly used of Roman military rank. When soldiers willingly took up their proper positions and assumed their given roles this work was used. It allowed an army to function efficiently and effectively as one.
Submission isn’t to force someone into compliance. It is willingly placing yourself into position for the good of the whole.
When we as Christians willingly submit, willingly line ourselves up under each other, we can have
harmony in the body of Christ.
I want to draw your attention to one final pair of words. The first comes in Romans 15:7, “Accept one
another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”
Think about that for a moment. “Accept one another . . . just as Jesus accepted you.”
God sent his son to live among us. To die for us. To overcome death for us. He forgives us and calls us a child of God, and we are arrogant enough to say, “Not me.” I’m too good for them, or they’re not good enough for me.
Jesus has made us brothers and sisters and we want to pretend we’re not family and won’t have anything to do with them. God forgive us.
The second word appears in 1 Corinthians 1:10, “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and
that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.”
It is easy to misunderstand this verse because a little bit is lost in translation. The word for agree here literally means to speak the same thing. He’s talking about those things that we profess to be true. Paul is not saying that we should all have the same opinion on everything. He’s not saying we should all have the same preferences.
But since we all agree on those saving truths that we hold so dear, we can be united on those things.
This is what Paul was referring to in Ephesians 4 when he wrote,
“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
What unites us is greater than what divides us- The one Lord that died for us, the one faith that saves
us, the one baptism that joins us all with Christ’s death and fills us with his Spirit, the one God whose
plan and purpose is guiding the whole thing. Those things are greater than all the things we get
offended and hurt over. We have many more reasons to get together than to stay apart.
One of my favorites bands is the Eagles and what makes them great are their harmonies but what if there weren’t any harmonies? Would it be as good? Let’s listen. Don Felder.
What about two voices? Don Felder and Glenn Fry . . . not bad but how about this.
Now that’s what I’m talking about.
You guys, we are better together so live in harmony with one another!