Yet the reality is, so often we don’t get along. We nitpick about differences in doctrine. We point fingers at others’ flaws. We decide who’s a sinner and who isn’t. We vow toboycott chicken sandwiches or to not boycott chicken sandwiches, and we judge those who don’t do the same. Really? Is this really what God wants from us? To separate ourselves from “others?” To hang with the “in” crowd and avoid everyone else? To notice the sliver in another’s eye and ignore the log in our own? To bicker and gripe and tear down instead of build up? I don’t know for sure what happened to the man. All I know is that when he showed signs of distress during worship, four men, undoubtedly strangers, jumped to his aid and literally carried him to safety. That is exactly what God expects from each one of us – and not just with our fellow church members and our own friends and family, but with every one of our brothers and sisters in our neighborhood, in our nation and in our world. He expects that we will stand in the gap, come to one another’s aid, lift up and encourage, support and pray for. In short, God expects that we will carry others when they are unable to carry themselves. As I write this blog post, my prayer journal is open next to me on the bed, and I read the verses I jotted last week as I studied 1 Thessalonians. Next to the verses I’d scrawled: lessons for living — Live in a way that pleases God. (4:1) How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony! For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil that was poured over Aaron’s head, that ran down his beard and onto the border of his robe. Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon that falls on the mountains of Zion. And there the Lord has pronounced his blessing, even life everlasting. (Psalm 133, NLT) Writing about the practice of relationship…with Ann Voskamp: If you’re here for the first time, click Please also try to visit and leave some friendly encouragement in the comment box of at least one other Hear It, Use It participant. And if you want to tweet about the community, please use the #HearItUseIt hashtag.
Yesterday, right in the middle of Pastor Sara’s sermon on Psalm 133, I heard a commotion toward the back of the church, and when I turned to look over my shoulder I glimpsed an elderly man being carried down the aisle and out into the lobby. Two men gripped the man’s arms and two men carried his legs, as the man’s wife (I presume) hurried behind. A few minutes later I heard a siren just outside the sanctuary windows.
And that, I thought, as I sat in the pew, is the perfect metaphor for Psalm 133.
Encourage each other and build each other up. (5:11)
Live peacefully with each other. (5:13)
Take tender care of the weak. (5:14)
Be patient with everyone. (5:14)
Always try to do good to each other and to all people. (5:15)
These are the basic human principles Jesus cared about and it’s what God wants us to care about, too. And while this list from 1 Thessalonians is more specific, isn’t this the essence of Psalm 133? Isn’t this what God has in mind when he praises us for living harmoniously with our brothers and sisters? Aren’t these the instructions for how to get along?
Harmony, God tells us, is a precious as oil and as refreshing as dew. And it’s no coincidence that there, right in the midst of harmony, God pronounces his blessing:
