Some aspects of the two stories in this activity are real, and some are hypothetical. Both represent true-to-life situations.
Case Study # I — When Will They Ever Learn?
“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God”
Matthew 5:9
“Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another” Mark 9:50
When will they ever learn? Myrna has a boss mentality and the hide of an elephant to go with it. She is always telling the other kids in the Youth Circle what to do. It’s other people who have to toe the mark. And since the day she was baptized, she has acted as if she has more status than ever.
The other kids in CYC have had enough of her. They don’t like Myrna, and some have said so to her face. It doesn’t phase her. They also talk about her behind her back. They argue with her in CYC. She doesn’t budge. Needless to say, CYC meetings can be pretty tense.
Uncle Phil and Aunt Helen are the CYC advisors. They’ve talked with Myrna about the problem. They’ve read Mark 9:33-35 with her, talked about its meaning and prayed with her for improvement. She invariably responds by pointing the finger at the other kids. In addition, Uncle Phil and Aunt Helen have had a couple of long talks with the rest of the CYC about the Christlike way to deal with people who are offensive.
What has it accomplished? Last Friday evening the CYC meeting turned into a shouting match. Myrna waltzed in 15 minutes late and immediately started dominating the discussion of the upcoming car wash. She had some good ideas, but she didn’t have a clue about the decisions that had already been made by the others. After about five minutes of her high-handed antics, the rest of the kids lit into her! The car wash was canceled. When are they going to learn?
Jesus had trouble with his disciples, too. More than once the 12 argued about who was greatest and which of them would have the most important position in the kingdom of God. They got very upset with each other. See Mark 10:35-45. The problem did not go away even after Jesus spoke with them about it. It persisted right up to the Last Supper. See Luke 22:24-27.
Questions
- What did Jesus say is the key to living at peace with one another? Read the passages referred to in the story.
- List some practical ways you can do what Jesus taught in these passages.
- What changes does Myrna need to make in her life?
- What changes do the other CYC members need to make in their lives?
- In general, people do not change much and they do not change very fast. What do you think is the key to making positive spiritual improvements in your life?
- Why didn’t Jesus make his disciples stop arguing about their self-importance?
Case Study # 2 — Gracious Words Overheard
“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” (Colossians 4:6 NKJV).
“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” Ephesians 4:29
A brother in Christ once told me about an experience he had in a bookstore. He and another customer got into a discussion. The subject came around to the doctrine of the Trinity. The other man became quite argumentative.
It is sad, but true, that discussion of the one God of the universe can produce more divisiveness and ungodly argument than discussion on almost any other religious subject. Not only can men forget they are on holy ground when they talk about the Creator, but an ugly spirit in their debate about Him is a denial of His nature as the God of love and salvation. The person who argues his beliefs about God in an ungodly way is. in practice, no different from an atheist.
The man with whom our Christadelphian brother spoke was a Trinitarian. He became livid over our belief in the oneness of God and the Sonship of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the meantime, our Christadelphian brother did his best to remain calm and polite as he attempted to reason with the man. The discussion ended unsatisfactorily, as such discussions often do. The Trinitarian left the store indignantly.
Afterward, another customer came up to our brother. She had been eavesdropping on the conversation. She remarked, “I don’t think I can agree with your beliefs about God, but I certainly know who showed the spirit of Christ during that discussion.”
The apostle Paul’s teaching in Colossians 4:6 has to do with our words and conduct, particularly as these exhibit the quality of our faith to others. How do you make out when you have to take a stand for the things you believe?
Questions
- On a scale of one to five, evaluate yourself.
“Corrupt communication” “Seasoned with salt”
(Eph. 4:29) (Col. 4:6)
The spirit I exhibit = 1 2 3 4 5
The words I say = 1 2 3 4 5
- Which statements best describe you?
- I get hot under the collar
- I am reverent
- My words are gracious
- I’ve got a short fuse
- I want my words to help people
- There are times when I hope my words will hurt people
- I rule my spirit
- My spirit sometimes rules me
- I have to win any argument
- I can pass up an opportunity to look good. appear smart, and come out on top.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One