Romans 14:19 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.
No one is more brilliant than a college freshman! I can remember many a lunchroom debate among those of us who were freshman. We debated issues both sublime and mundane. In my room there were four of us, including two preachers and a lawyer. So, you can imagine the debates we had at all hours of the night and day!
Do you ever disagree with people who are good people? Do you ever disagree with the best of people? Of course you do, unless you have no conviction about anything whatsoever. You are convinced of things that others are not, and you are not convinced of things which others are. That brings up a problem. What do you do when you disagree with people who are believers and are good people?
Two watchwords to consider when we come up to an area of disagreement are “persuasion” and “peace,” persuasion toward self and peace toward others.
When there is an area of contention or disagreement, the first watchword is “persuasion.” Romans 14:5 says, “One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.” So, in the topic under discussion, Paul says that every person needs to be persuaded in his own mind. This is not persuasion of a group, but it is an individual matter of conscience before God.
I need to have an open mind. So many times when issues come up we think, “Whom do I like?” or “What will benefit me?” Well, if there is an issue on which I don’t know who is right, and I see one person of intelligence and integrity and another person who has neither, I am going to be inclined to trust the person with character. That being said, if I am going to navigate disagreements with good people, I need to be persuaded in myself.
The second watchword is “peace.” Verse 19 says, “Let us follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.” I don’t need to win arguments; I need to win a brother. I don’t win by always being right; I need to know what is right. Sometimes we are more concerned about who is right than what is right. So, I need to follow persuasion for myself and peace when it comes to others. This is an attitude.
Oddly enough, my persuasion of a matter gives me peace in my own mind, and a peaceful attitude towards others is often persuasive to them.
Some days you are not going to agree with every one, and no one would expect that. We all stand before God to be judged, but two watchwords that will help us navigate such situation are “persuasion” and “peace,” persuasion toward self and peace toward others.