MARCH 22: BUILDING AND MAINTAINING HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS

One of the ways of aligning with God is to build and maintain healthy relationships with other people in the community. The dispute between Paul and Barnabas as recorded in our text today can be presented as a valuable lesson in building healthy relationships within a church community. The disagreement arose when Barnabas wanted to take John Mark along on their next missionary journey, but Paul disagreed due to Mark’s earlier desertion (Acts 13:13). This sharp disagreement led to their separation, with Barnabas taking Mark and sailing to Cyprus, while Paul chose Silas and departed to Syria and Celia.

It is important for us to understand that disagreement in a community, particularly the church, is inevitable, even prominent leaders like Paul and Barnabas had differing opinions. So, what matters is how disagreements are handled. Healthy separation during disagreement is possible. In some cases, separation can be necessary to preserve the well-being of the community or the individuals involved. This can be seen in the way Paul and Barnabas parted ways in our devotional text today. Despite their disagreement, both parties continued to see each other as faithful brothers, loving, respecting, and supporting each other’s labour (1 Cor. 9:5-6).

The take home from our devotion today is first, that we must approach disagreement with humility, gentleness, and patience. Second, we must as a body of Christ, prioritize the gospel over personal preferences. Third, we must continue to pray and support one another even in disagreement.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, grant us your grace to continue to love each other even in disputes in Jesus’ name, Amen.