To say that our joy is as vulnerable to conflict in the church, as a balloon is to a straight pin goes too far. I suppose our joy doesn’t “pop” every time there is a conflict. But, is it fair to say that conflict in Christian relationships leaves our joy looking like a helium balloon two days after the birthday party?
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Philippians is often called the epistle of joy. And, rightly so. There are 19 occurrences of the joy vocabulary (Morrice, 125) compared to five in all of Colossians, Ephesians, and Philemon.
Christians occasionally assert that Paul taught in Philippians that our joy should be completely independent of circumstances. This is true to a degree. After, all from prison Paul said that he had learned the secret of being content in all things; he knew how to brought low and how to abound (Phil 4:12).
Still – – -it is clear from reading Philippians that Paul did recognize that his joy was affected by his relationship with the Philippians and with their relationships with one another.
- Paul “rejoiced in the Lord greatly” that the Philippians renewed their concern for him (4:10).
- And, Paul encouraged the Philippians that they could complete his joy by being like minded, having the same love, being one in purpose (2:2).
Paraphrased in the converse, “If you Philippians don’t get along, then my joy will be incomplete.”
Moises Silva:
Whatever the precise origin and nature of the controversy, however, relationships in the Philippians community were being strained. And, hardly anything is more destructive of Christian joy than broken ties among brothers and sisters in Christ.
Hi Chris,
I like your post. Yesterday, Steven and I visited the Brooklyn Historical Society. They have an awesome collection in their library of research materials on the history of Brooklyn. I found a book called “ Practical Christian Sociology” by Wilbur F. Crafts. Maybe you have heard of him before? He was a popular reformer and pastor here in Brooklyn. I wrote down some notes from the preface of his book that fall in line with what you are conveying here. He said that, “ Love is best defined as right relations which is also the best definition of religion. “Love God” means get into right personal relations with God. “Love Man” means get into right social relations with your fellow man.” Obviously, I haven’t read the whole thing, but it seems like the crux of his belief system is that society is saved by the application of the law of Christ (love) to all of our associations – including, if not starting with the church.
I am beyond thankful for my church now. I can say that with all its imperfections, it is the closest thing to the New Testament church that I have experienced. However, the pain of not being able to reconcile God’s ideal of “right relation” with some of my other experiences IS a total “joy killer”. So, I guess in that regard, I eagerly await the Day when He will bring it all together in Jesus.
I was just talking to a friend last night about how DRAINING it can be to have conflict within the church. She led a group of highschool girls who were easily offended and critical of her throughout the year. She said she even saw physical signs of the stress this created.
But I agree– it’s more like a shrinking balloon than a popping one.
The hardest part is: You can’t really pin this on the enemy. You can’t raise your hand at prayer request time and say, “My sister here beside me is shrinking my joy.” Lots of times you suffer privately for the sake of the common good. You want to pray Psalm 37, but you’re not sure it applies, since your sibbling in Christ is also his beloved.
I think one of the greatest parts of heaven will be perfect peace in relationships.