Discord or Harmony?

BY: Katie Ledbetter

“Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.” Proverbs 13:10

Discord- as in strife 

(Merriam-Webster) a lack of agreement or harmony 

(Webster's 1828) 1. Disagreement among persons or things. Between persons, difference of opinions; variance; opposition; contention; strife; any disagreement which produces angry passions, contest, disputes, litigation or war. Discord may exist between families, parties, and nations. 

2. Disagreement; want of order; a clashing. 

(Strongs) a contest or quarrel:—brawling, contention(-ous), discord, strife

I love it when everyone gets along. I have never enjoyed the stress and tension of two or more people not liking one another and the feeling when they seem to pressure you to choose between one or the other. I am by nature not a team player. I'm the girl who cheers for both sides. I have no problem with one side losing and one side winning. That is just how life is. I want to cheer everyone on from the sidelines. I'm no different when it comes to conflict. I look at the situation, and I have to see that usually there will be a winner and a loser. What I've often found is that pride has a way of standing in the way of anyone admitting they are wrong. 

Proverbs 13:10, “Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.” 

The opposite of discord is harmony. Harmony simply means “agreement or concord.” Harmony in music is what gives a full and complete sound. You can have a melody and on its own it's going to stand and be worth listening to if sung or played correctly, but the added harmony has a pleasing effect that makes the mind and the ear attentive. Discord would be like having four tone deaf people stand and sing a song together. In their ears, it might sound right but to everyone else, it sounds harsh and unpleasant. 

We will all at times find ourselves out of harmony with others. So what can we do about it? Do we have to form a team? Do we have to choose a side? 

First, we have to recognize that it's up to us to not sow the discord that has us entrapped in others. Proverbs 6:16-19, “These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: [17] A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, [18] An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, [19] A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.”

God says the person who sows discord is an abomination to Him. To put that in perspective, look at Deuteronomy 22:5. We can clearly see in our culture how abominable cross-dressing is. God looks at the man or woman sowing discord in the same way. So, the first thing we have to realize is that “choosing sides” or “team building” in a discord situation is wrong among God's people. 

Secondly, referring back to Proverbs 13:10, we must swallow our pride and take our problem to the Source. Matthew 18:15, “Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.”

You might say, "I'm not the one with the problem! She is!" Well, God gave us instructions for that as well. Matthew 5:23-24, “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; [24] Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.”

If you know the problem, deal with it. If you don't know the problem, do the best you can to be kind, loving, and prayerful. If you have no problem and someone is determined in their own pride to say you do, refuse to allow them to push you to create one. Simply choose harmony and strive with your own pride to do her good and not evil. 

Thirdly, we must seek God's Will. Romans 12 tells us how to present our bodies as a living sacrifice. It's amazing to see how the chapter begins and how it ends. The beginning is about presentation and being in the perfect will of God. As the chapter progresses Paul tells them how. It's not necessary what they looked like on the outside, although that played a role. It was more about how they conducted themselves with the brethren. 

Romans 12:3-5, “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. [4] For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: [5] So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.” 

That being said, you can fight discord by determining in yourself to stay in the will of God. Please read Romans 12. Ask yourself if you are in God's will according to the chapter. God's Word is so precious that it will not be returned void when we regard it as the Truth that it is. 

Fourthly, we have to allow charity to reign in our hearts and minds. No one is perfect and no one has arrived. Charity makes us all have to place ourselves last instead of first (I Corinthians 13). I won't sow discord if I regard my brother or sister as more valuable than myself. In I John 2, John wrote about hating your brother. The word, hateth means “to love less.” So, when I am loving my brother or sister in Christ less than myself or less than I have in the past, I am establishing that I hate them. They have no value in my life. When something has no value, you will have no problem trying to get others to stay away from it. You'll sow discord quickly when you begin to see others as less than who God made them to be. 

Lastly, study how Jesus dealt with discord.

Jesus is always the example.

He dealt with discord in His disciples. If you study the lives of the men who were the closest to the Saviour, they didn't always hold hands and sing songs in unity. One of my favorite verses and greatest reminders is when Jesus basically told Peter to mind his own business where John was concerned. 

John 21:21-22, “Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? [22] Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.”

If we study the life of Christ, we will find a man who did not sow discord - He gave solutions and left it there. Jesus would have been justified to walk in His own pride but instead chose humility. He laid down His own will for the will of The Father. He is the greatest example of charity by laying down His life for others. He simply asks us to be like Him. He prayed for us. The least we can do is obey Him. 

John 17:9-10, “I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. [10] And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.”

We are not to be pushovers as Christians, walking in agreement with this world to keep peace. But we are to strive to keep peace among ourselves. Don't let this world's ways and views entrap you. Don't let gossip and contention put you in a place where God has to view your work as an abomination unto Him. We are in the last days. Let's encourage one another as we race to the finish line. Let's go arm in arm and run the race well!