February 2, 2023
Melissa Valerio
Do you have any coworkers who are difficult to get along with? They mean well, but they’re just hard to stomach. Either it’s a complaint you hear about over and over again, or it’s a habit they have that disgusts you, or maybe it’s a characteristic flaw that really grates your nerves. Or it could even be their lack of effort on the job, which then creates more work for you. The answer is yes. We all have those coworkers. If we’re not careful, those small seeds of discord we harbor in our hearts eventually turn into a forest of trees that create division and disunity between “us” and “them”. When in reality, we should be working together towards the same goal. This isn’t just in your workplace, but everywhere. It’s in every workplace, in every organization, in every church, even in every family, to some degree. We see it all the way back to the early church days when the apostle Paul was talking to the Ephesian church about keeping unity among the members of the church “Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, and living through all.” (Ephesians 4:1-3 NLT) And again he urges the church in Corinth to share the same unity in purpose. (1 Corinthians 1:10-17) He reminds them they have one Lord (Jesus) they are serving and because of this, they should have one mind in serving Him. One goal. To become more like Him and to tell others about Him.
In these two passages Paul was primarily talking about divisions within the church, but we can also apply these same principles to our relationships outside of the church. Like in the workplace or in our families, or any social dynamic that doesn’t have God as the focus. Disagreements will happen, no doubt. Someone will do or say something that offends us, hurts us, or makes us angry. The question is what do we do with those offenses?
For the longest time, when I would read 1 Peter 4:8, which says, “Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.” (NLT) I used to think that by me loving someone else, I would cover over (by overlooking) a multitude of their sins. Until I finally realized it’s not just their sins that love is covering over, but also my sins. Being humble, gentle, and patient with someone who has offended me not only shows grace to them (which has been shown to me first by Christ), but it also prevents me from sinning against them. For instance, I could have lashed out with harsh words, or gossiped about them to someone else, or allowed anger to simmer inside of me. But these potential sins were covered over by responding in love towards them, versus responding in anger. This is how you keep the unity within a relationship. Standing firm on the non-negotiables and letting go of everything else. Is the disagreement life threatening to the goal? If not, it’s a non-issue. If it is, then it’s something to be prayed about. Remember that God has more power than we give Him credit for sometimes, and many of our divisive relationships would greatly benefit from His intervention. Sometimes, we just need to let God be God and ask Him to work in the hearts of everyone involved, including our own.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, none of us is sufficient for the Christian life of complete unity apart from Your help. You are the glue that keeps us together. Sometimes we fall short of loving Your people as we should, please forgive us for that. Show us how to love like You do, so that we may be of one mind and one heart. And together, we will follow You to eternity. In Your blessed name, Amen.
Action: The next time that seed of irritation flares up, remind yourself that Jesus covered ALL your sins with His blood. As an act of kindness, cover over that person’s sin, and yours, by responding to them with love — bite your tongue, walk the other way, take a breath, respond with a compliment, or do anything else you can think of that is completely opposite of what your natural reaction would be. Then thank Jesus for helping you through it.
This is a really great reminder. Thank you.