The Battling Middles

I was sitting in Church several weeks ago, content in my favorite pew, while my boys were standing with their terrific Sunday School teacher outside the sanctuary….looking clean and proper and so well-behaved. I know better than to completely ignore them, so I glanced back often, and after a few times noticed that the middle-two (or as we call them “The Middles,”) were not looking so sweet and well-behaved any longer. They were talking intently….then moving closer and closer to each other. I recognized the look on their faces but was hopeful that surely they knew better than to start punching each other at Church.  Well…maybe not. You can imagine my dismay when one of them lowered his shoulder and rammed his brother and the other “shouldered” him right back.  I was too far away for a threatening look, so I hopped up and took them outside where I’m sure I calmly discussed the merits of brotherly love.

The timing of this mini brawl was interesting because I had just come from Sunday School, where Pastor Skar had talked about Christians loving each other as members of the Universal Church, even when we disagree. As adults, most of us probably won’t throw punches in the Church Foyer, but a lot of us may bicker and complain and focus on issues where we disagree. We may do this in our on congregation, and in the greater Universal Church. We can’t depend on our mom grabbing us and retreating to the parking lot anymore, so I guess we need to remember what the Bible tells us.

Romans 12:19
Don't quarrel with anyone. Be at peace with everyone, just as much as possible.