Sing, Sing a Song

          Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.  Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. (Romans 12:15-17)

          Some folks like to watch others get their comeuppance. They talk about karma as if they think it’s a good thing. “Justice,” they say, but more often than not, it’s probably revenge. They seem to think God gets His kicks out of sending people to hell or otherwise punishing them. There are some passages that suggest this might be true but the overall impression of Scripture is that God takes no pleasure in the death of anyone. Schadenfreude, or joy at the pain or misfortunate of others, is as bad as causing the pain or misfortune.

          Other folks seem to think that Christians are Stepford wives who talk alike, walk alike, and like all the same things. If we don’t, they think, we should. There should be one Church (which there is) and one denomination. Doesn’t the Bible talk about one Body, one Church, and unity?

          Unity is a major subject in Scripture, but the Bible also talks about diversity. The Church is one body with many parts. The nose doesn’t have the same function as the toe. If you start studying any subject, you’ll find that it connects to other subjects that must also be understood in order to get the whole picture. Or, in the case of today’s passage, it’s needed to get the whole symphony.

          Imagine if there was only one note. Imagine if everyone and everything vibrated at middle C. There is a term that was invented to describe that: monotone. We get the word monotonous from it, and that which is monotonous is boring.

          There are other people who would be better suited to writing what I’m about to say, because they understand music better than I do, but since I’m the only one here, I’ll try. If you have read my blog for a while, you’ve probably heard me mention the five love languages: words of affirmation, quality time, giving gifts, service, and physical touch. In music, a basic chord consists of three notes, usually notes that skip the intervening steps, as in one, three, and five. Putting any two of those, or all three together generally has a pleasant sound to our ears. There are times, however, when different combinations are used, but that goes beyond my understanding. The point is that the combination of different notes played together, or different notes before and after a specific note is what gives the music beauty – what makes it music. It’s called harmony, and it’s when different notes work well together.

          Of course, some notes don’t play well with others. That’s called disharmony or cacophony. Today’s passage is a call for us – not to Stepford monotony, but to united, harmonious diversity. That’s the way we’ll be a symphony.