WordLive - Year OneSample

Prepare: Meditate on the truth that God has promised always to be with you.

Unity under threat
Gather any group of people together and soon there will be quarrels and complaints. The church had barely begun and already there were factions and accusations of favouritism.

Of course, we don’t know how true these accusations were, whether there was intentional discrimination or whether these widows were accidentally ‘overlooked’. Clearly, though, they were very unhappy and voiced their dissatisfaction to those close to them. The unity of the fledgling church was under threat.

Bringing peace
The apostles responded with wisdom. They didn’t ignore the situation hoping it would go away, neither did they wade right in and start trying to find out the details in order to sort it all out personally. They didn’t take sides. Instead, they put in place structures to stop the grumbling and to prevent the issue arising again in future.

The apostles’ statement that they should not neglect the ministry in order to serve at tables (v 2) sounds almost prideful: ‘we are too important for menial tasks’. In reality, however, it was a refusal to become distracted from the work of spreading the gospel by internal squabbles.

Arguments are divisive: it’s easier to take sides and throw yourself into the fight than to refuse to get involved. It’s even harder to bring about peace between the two sides and draw their focus back to the task at hand.

Respond: Pray for the leaders of your church today. Pray that they would lead with wisdom.

http://www.wordlive.org/Session/Classic/2012-07-06