by Stan Mitchell

"What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit and I will also sing with the understanding" (1 Corinthians 14:15, NKJV).

I heard someone say recently that their congregation had reached a "compromise" over the kinds of hymns they sang in their congregation. They were seeking to "please everybody" by singing some new songs, some old ones, some "praise songs," and some classics. It made me think of a wedding -- "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue ..."

I understand the desire to keep the peace in a congregation, and I agree that when we choose songs, and a style of song, that we should always be mindful of the needs of others (Philippians 2:1-4). But we've got to do better than mechanically inserting one song that will please the teens, one that will please the elderly, and so on. Our hymns are important. It hurts me to see brethren whispering and conducting some sort of business, even church business, when they should be joining the rest of us in song.

A danger we face with this approach is that we fracture the church into special age, race, and cultural groups, each with its own musical "requirements." Music becomes a divisive force, Balkanizing the church, each group seeking what Michael Hamilton calls its own "stylistic national anthem" (Christianity Today, 43, 1999).

What is the answer? If a song's message is not Biblical, then it is not a hymn. Some songs miss the mark not because they teach false doctrine but because they don't teach much of anything. In our hymns we are to "teach and admonish one another" (Colossians 3:16; Ephesians 5:19). We worship a first class God; let's not offer him a second class offering of praise. He deserves the very best that we have!

by Barry Newton

To listen to their self-testimony, neither of them had done anything wrong. Yet the atmosphere in the room was as cold as a blizzard in January. As far as he was concerned, their strained relationship was all her fault. Similarly, she was totally convinced she was in the right. So they sat in silence, not looking at each other or talking. Each blaming the other. Each wanting the other to apologize. What would happen next is a matter of what they value most.

Disciples are taught to love, forgive, and to show mercy to others. If God desires to heal our human relationships, is it possible a situation exists where they remain fractured?

To listen to some Christians the answer appears to be "yes." How familiar are the following sentiments? "I have not done anything wrong. They hurt me. So the responsibility is upon them to come to me first and ask for forgiveness. I am justified in not doing anything more."

How often have Christians stonewalled healing a relationship because each has dogmatically insisted that the weight of responsibility was upon the other person to make the first move? In spite of God's desire to heal broken relationships, could it be that unity can legitimately be thwarted by a common human situation?

What happens when two godly values collide? The spiritually mature response is to honor the higher principle. For example, Christians are told to both obey the authorities and to preach Christ. So what should we do if the authorities tell us to not preach Christ? As Peter and John's question highlights, which is more important: obeying God or obeying man? Accordingly they continued to preach Jesus.

Which is more important to you: defending your position in being right or a healed relationship? Which would God consider more important? Before you answer, remember God is the one who sent his innocent Son to die for his enemies that we might have peace with him through Jesus. And do not forget the apostle's words, "why not rather take wrong? Why not rather be cheated?"/1 Would Paul place greater value upon defending "I have done nothing wrong" or in saying, "I am sorry for how my actions may have hurt you"?

To value the unity of reconciliation as being more important than protecting my rights reflects God's love. Without a doubt, this is not a response of the spiritually immature.

1/ 1 Corinthians 6:7

by Don Ruhl

Read Genesis 27 and 28

What a sad verse is the following one,

41 So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob (Gen. 27:41).

Esau fails to rejoice with him who rejoices and he fails to follow the peaceful ways of his father, even planning the murder of Jacob after their father dies. The more I read the Scriptures and the more I experience life, especially life in the church, the more I see the wisdom of Jesus that loving our neighbor as self is the second greatest commandment.

Yes, there will be disagreements and people will sin against us, but Jesus gave no exceptions to the second greatest command. Whatever happens, we are to love our neighbor, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ. Is that a challenge? There is no doubt about it, but the more we form the image of Jesus Christ within us, the less we will be like Esau and the more we will love.

What do you think of your brothers and sisters in Christ and what kind of actions do you plan concerning them?