Opposing Sides
Reference: v.2 He (King Joram) did evil in the eyes of the Lord, but not as his father and mother had done. He got rid of the sacred stone of Baal that his father had made. (TNIV Bible)
Explore: We’ve recently had the Australian Open Tennis Tournament played in Melbourne. We witnessed some amazing athletes and saw some great tennis. It is breath taking to see such fierce competition between two players as they stood facing each other from opposite ends of the court. I found it interesting while watching one tennis match to hear that the competitors were actually friends and often trained together. From a sporting point of view it was clear that they were on opposing sides and yet when they were off the court they found a great deal in common.
Application: I often find that people who attend church regularly can quickly build a dividing barrier between those who do go to church and those who don’t. We use such terms as ‘them’ and ‘us’ and quickly form our cliquey clubs. However, everyone who was created by God has good in them. Even evil king Joram, who ‘did evil in the eyes of the Lord’, even he did some good. He got rid of some worship elements used to honor other gods. Everyone has something to offer and we should not rule them out just because we are on different ‘teams’. It can be challenging at times but we will learn to love people better if we look for the similarities we have with them rather than the differences.
Prayer: Lord, you love us all the same but sometimes we feel that we deserve your love more. Help us to look with love at all people and find connections that we have in common with others. Amen.
Think of someone you struggle to get along with. Make a mental list of all the similarities you have with that person.
