Tips for Ending a Disagreement

Good Evening Everyone,

The past few weeks we have been studying out of the book of Philippians on Wednesday night in our teen Bible class here in Pearland. Tonight we began Chapter 4 and as I was preparing I realized that the Apostle was teaching us how to end a disagreement.

Philippians 4
2 I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord.

I don’t know who these two ladies are, I don’t know if they were related and I don’t know what they were arguing about but it must have been pretty bad. Paul is writing this in chains and he takes time to address these two ladies so I guess it must have been more than a small disagreement. The ingenious thing that Paul (directed by the Holy Spirit) did was to teach all of us how to deal with a disagreement.


Philippians 4:4

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

It is pretty difficult to be mad at someone if you are living your life rejoicing in the Lord. It is even more difficult if you are rejoicing along side the person who you might disagree with.

Philippians 4:5-7
5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

To the non-believer your gentleness might be the only gentleness they see. When you are living a gentle life then it is difficult to get into arguments and you will not be as anxious of a person. I don’t listen or do this one very well. I’m a pretty anxious person but I am working on it.

Philippians 4:8-9
8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

If you are focusing on these things then getting into an argument will be increasingly difficult. Paul knew what it meant to live in peace with everyone and he has shared most of what we need to know about getting along in these 5 verses. The challenge for us is to apply this to our lives and make a concentrated effort to live like God wants us to. I believe you can do it if you are faithful to our faithful God.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul