AGENDAS

Philippians 4:2,9—I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord . . . Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

The Apostle Paul carried enormous power in the early church. Yet, when he heard that two Christians Eodua and Syntyche were fighting, he did not order them to stop. He urged them to find agreement in the Lord. Later, in the same chapter he was able to say to them basically, "Do as I do."

One of the critical mistakes we make as Christians is to impose our agenda on others. The key to enabling other believers to do what is right is to point them to Christ and to be Christ-like ourselves. Before swaying others to my way of thinking, I must ask myself a crucial question. Do I have my own agenda(s) that I would superimpose on others or am I humble enough to point people to Christ because I realize my own opinions may not be best? "In the Lord" are three of the most profound words in our language. In the Lord, we lose our agendas and find God’s wisdom.

Inspiration

Be careful to see that you never bind a yoke on others that is not placed by Jesus Christ. It takes God a long time to get us out of the way of thinking that unless everyone sees as we do, they must be wrong. That is never God’s view. There is only one liberty, the liberty of Jesus at work in our conscience enabling us to do what is right . . . Jesus said, "Go and make disciples," not make converts to your opinions.—Oswald Chambers in My Utmost For His Highest