Moving in with my wife was quite a chaotic
experience. Not only was I adjusting to never having a roommate before, but she
was just as opinionated and strong willed as I was. We found ourselves arguing
and getting upset over the smallest things. Things like the order of silverware
in the drawer or the color of the lining we wanted on our kitchen shelves. We
were stressed and so engrossed in the process of moving and adjusting that we
forgot why we were doing it all. We were, and still are, deeply in love with
one another. Love was the reason for us to be getting married and going through
all the stress of moving.
It took me a while to realize that our bickering over
how to organize things was due to similarities in our personalities. We both
love to put things in order, and we both have internal views as well as
experiences that formed our opinion of how things should be ordered. The
problem was that we both had different experiences that brought us to have
different ways to order things. In this experience we learned the importance of
give and take in our relationship.
Clashes between people in a church are much the same way
as the clashes I have had with my wife while moving in together. We forget that
we are all individuals with different personalities and we forget the thing that
brings us together. Those differing personalities come with various ways of
thinking and a spectrum of perspectives that can easily dominate our
interactions with each other. We need to take time now and then to look back at
what brings us together and reset our actions and mindset. The church community
must also do this. We should keep it in our mind that we strive for the same
goal and are part of the same community regardless of our theological or
personality difference. Those strengths and weaknesses that each of us have may
often lead to bickering but they show that everyone has a unique place in the
community. In order for the church relationship, or community, to work we must
make an effort to use our strengths and admit our weaknesses so that we can
work together toward that commonality which brings us into the community to
begin with. The areas that a community of believers is weak in leaves the door
is open for new people and for the spirit of God to work; developing us into
the fully functioning body of Christ that Paul speaks of.
Sorry for this blundering of thought, but I believe
it is something that many communities forget. We have a common thread. Always
remember that.
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