A Thought For The Week Of January 30, 2017

"Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble." (1 Peter 3:8) Our society tends toward individualism, in that we generally focus on ourselves: our own needs, our own wants, our own goals. Even in our lives of faith it's often what we believe as individuals that takes priority rather than any common set of doctrinal points. Creeds for many people have become almost anathema. Life - both secular and spiritual - has become fixated on what you might call self-actualization. All that matters is what something does for ME. I've seen that sort of attitude repeatedly in the church. All that matters is what I like. If the style of worship isn't what I like I'll complain, and if I don't get my way I'll just quit - without stopping to think that the style I don't like might be an invaluable support to someone else sitting in the same sanctuary. Those attitudes I'm all too familiar with. So I thought that this verse was an important one. It seems to speak of faith not from merely an individualistic perspective but also from a corporate perspective. It's not about me, it's about us. The goal of faith is to "be like-minded" and that apparently expresses itself mostly in our attitudes and actions toward others. There may be areas where we have the flexibility to put our own spin on the faith (and perhaps our doctrine is one of those areas) but certain qualities must be present in us and must be shown through us: sympathy, love, compassion and humility. These things are non-negotiable in a life of faith. Any life that does not display those qualities is not a faithful life - or at least it isn't one that pleases God. There is room for us to put our own spin on what it means to be a Christian, but there are also certain values that have to be present in a Christian life. It's not all just a matter of anything goes.