Live in harmony with one another

Romans 12:14-18

“Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”

Rain on what I feel or even what I think, rain on my emotions, my status in this world; if any of these come in conflict with the authority of Scripture, then submit to the Scriptures.  When you read the above Scripture it sounds God like, it seems like a command, it looks like something we should desire, but is it lived out in our lives?

For forty years I worked in sales for one of the best Corporations in the USA, but sales is about what have you done for me today, past performance is viewed as history, and it’s all about performance based acceptance.  We rejoiced in sales and we would weep often when we lost a big project, but if you were the guys who lost too many sales you were given the opportunity to explore new avenues.  Being in sales is not about harmony with those you are competing with for the order, and sales people seem to gravitate to whom they see as successful people.  Often in sales, people who have had success begin to belief their press clippings, much like a high-school football team, and forget that talent and ability are a gift from God.  And often when a sale was lost, the blame game came into play, and that does not promote harmony.

I had been in sales for over two years before entering into a relationship with Jesus Christ, before that I was a Baptist, but not in good standing, Jan and I were too busy for church.  So you will not be surprised when I tell you I had a background of getting my needs met outside of Christ, and when Christ became my new life, I knew little about living by faith, all I knew was how to be religious, and you may identify with where I found myself.  One day as I read the Bible in 2 Corinthians 5:20, it said I was to be an “Ambassador of Christ, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.”  I knew little about how to do that, I was not a preacher, wasn’t that what preachers were to do, not salespeople?

It was not long after that, as I continue to read in 2 Corinthians I ran head on into this verse, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you? —unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” (2 Corinthians 13:5)  Now remember I’m in sales and examination is a big part of being successful, could it also be important in letting Christ show-up each day with my family and my business?

If you read my blogs you may recall me talking about men like Carroll Ray Jr., Ken Ryan, and Bill and Anabel Gilham who impacted my life, none were preachers, none served on staff at a Church, but each of them were Ambassadors of Christ, they were into examining themselves to make sure it was Christ doing it all for them.  It was Bill, a former professor of psychology at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, that taught me to rain on what I feel are even what I think, rain on my emotions, or my status in this world; if any of these come in conflict with the authority of Scripture, then rain on them.

So pray for me, and I will pray for you, that we will not allow this present darkness we live in to conform us to its patterns, but allow Christ in us to make us more than a conqueror.  That we, “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice