When Competitors Become Angels
It is natural to observe and emphasize our differences. Attracting friends, demonstrating personal prowess and competing for jobs can make us focus on our strengths and unique qualities. Individually, God asks us to be perfect, meaning we should always work towards personal growth. However, collectively, God asks us to be unified.
Competition increases enmity while collaboration increases love. Just like the rivers Solimões and Negro which flow together for a number of miles before the waters blend, due to the rivers having very different origins, speeds, temperatures, and chemical compositions, we must collectively blend. This does not mean that we deny the experiences we’ve had which are the source of our strength but it does mean collaborating with people from all different backgrounds.
All of us are fighting a war with the forces of evil. Living in the world assumes an exposure to all kings of influences. If Satan is trying to drag us in to the world, we are resisting him by being in the world but not of it. No matter our background, we are all “working” to fight spiritual attacks, because if we are doing nothing, we are losing ground. Our common goals can unify us
Some Christians emphasize the differences when they suggest that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints focus too much on “work.” Instead of dividing us, this can be unifying. I agree with others that working to fight Satan will not save me because I am weaker than I need to be. If God didn’t send angels to help me fight these battles, I would have already been dragged under. Grace is angels and any other blessing God sends to help us “work” faster, smarter and more efficiently. But God doesn’t say, “You’re saved so you don’t have to resist any of Satan’s attacks.” Instead he offers to help us make it through difficult times as we grow in our faith.
Paul says, “For whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?” (1 Cor 3:3) Paul, like all of us, saw divisions arise. It was normal then and it’s normal now. His counsel to us was to be unified, “For we are labourers together with God.” (1 Cor 3:9)
To be unified, we might need to be churned up a bit. The Solimōes and Negro river resist integration for many miles. Eventually as the river speeds up, the particles in both rivers mix to become one mighty Amazon. In the body of Christ, “those of us who are at different points in the long journey of discipleship must extend a warm hand of fellowship to new friends, accept[ing] them where they are, and help[ing], lov[ing], and include[ing] them in our lives.” Collectively, we have a vast reservoir of knowledge and experience. We are stronger together if we don’t emphasize only our differences.
Love is a product of working together. But before love happens, we must be long-suffering and patient with each person’s efforts and contributions. The differences between us might be evident for much of the journey of discipleship. I see service as a great way for people to bridge the gap between themselves and others as they lend some of their own emotional capital to aid another’s personal struggle. In a truly collaborative church, there is so much service that the resources to solve problems are at the level of “miraculous.”
Source:
Soares, Ulisses. “One in Christ” Ensign Nov 2018.