Skip to main content

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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Think About These Things

                 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) This passage is a major challenge for me. Like everyone else, I struggle to keep my thoughts from wandering off into the weeds, then wondering what possible benefits those weeds might have… Sigh. But as a writer, I have to delve at least a little into the ignoble, wrong, impure, unlovely, and debased. After all, there’s no story if everything’s just as it should be and everyone’s happy. As Christians, there are times when we need to deal with all the negatives, but that makes it even more important that we practice turning our minds by force of attention to what is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. It’s just too easy to get stuck in a swamp. With my...
1 comment
Read more

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more