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| Paul and Barnabas Disagree |
I heard a
sermon two days ago on Unity in the Church and was captivated because I
was already working on this post about the contention between Paul and Barnabas and it coincided beautifully.
Paul and Barnabas had previously gone on a missionary journey together and won many to Christ starting up churches all throughout the southern region of Asia Minor. They had taken with them Barnabas’ cousin called John Mark to be their assistant, but halfway through he decided to quit and return to Jerusalem.
When Paul approached Barnabas about going on a second missionary journey to revisit the churches they had started, Barnabas was determined to take John Mark with them, but Paul insisted that he couldn't be trusted to finish the job. The contention between Paul and Barnabas became so sharp that they parted ways. Barnabas took John Mark and sailed to Cyprus and Paul took Silas and went through Syria and Cilicia strengthening the churches they had started.
This disagreement and parting of the ways between Paul and Barnabas caused the two of them to open up two missionary endeavors instead of one. Later, they met and worked out any remaining hostility between them. Also, Paul later used John Mark in his ministry stating that he was useful to him.
Our attitude toward others reflects our attitude about the relationship we have with God. First John 4:20 says, “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?”
In the sermon on the mount, Jesus said, “Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”
But if they will not receive you then shake off the dust from your feet and move on. Pray sincerely for them. As Jesus said, “Bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”
Jesus did not approach every scribe and Pharisee that found fault with Him to gain reconciliation with them. But he said if a “brother” has something against you, go to reconcile with them if possible.
It is also necessary to examine ourselves as to whether we are in the faith. I had been praying about some issues going on in our neighborhood. I know that many feel as I do concerning these issues. But I was quickened by the Holy Spirit that I might be a little mean-spirited in my attitude toward the guilty parties. I changed my prayer from ‘Lord change them’ to ‘Lord change me’. That didn’t resolve the issues, but two wrongs don’t make it right either.
Now some people will definitely make it hard to love them. I had worked with an individual for about a year. I knew she was very self-centered and I had fallen victim to her antics so many times. But what I had been doing in the name of keeping the peace was going-along-to-get-along. I never confronted her antics, I just figured a way to get around them to keep on track with my assignments. But inside, my animosity toward her was building like steam in a pressure cooker. For a whole year I fumed inside, without any steam being released, and then one Thursday morning… the explosion. I found out the hard way that this kind of pinned up anger is not healthy and is like a pressure cooker ready to explode. You think you’re keeping the peace by not making waves but the person in chaos is you. Eventually, she was fired and God relieved me of her antics.
Tolerance is the capacity to endure continued subjection to something, like the antics of my former coworker. Being tolerant is good when it means treating people with other points of view that are different from ours, with kindness and not retaliating against them. It does not require us to agree with them or applaud what they say or do. We can be kind to them without compromising what God defines as true and good.
For unity’s sake, Jesus said, try to reconcile with your brother that we may be one in Him, and the world will believe that the Father sent Him (John 17:21).
Paul and Barnabas disagreed, but they were anointed by the Holy Spirit to win disciples to Christ, and later they reconciled with each other, and Paul even used John Mark in his ministry.
I used to be a Sunday School Superintendent, and I openly corrected someone in front of the class because a heated debate had gotten out of control. The injured party boycotted Sunday School which caused a chain reaction throughout the congregation till only two people were regularly attending. Looking back, what I should’ve done when I realized they were offended, is gone to that person privately and discussed the issue to make every effort to squash the resentment toward me, to keep us united in the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:2-3). Bitterness toward one another is a hindrance in the body of Christ, just like one organ not functioning well can cause all kinds of other issues in our natural body.
Fortunately, in Paul and Barnabas’ case, all things worked together for the good. All’s well that ends well. Amen?
To God be the glory.