Sermonette: Unity Through Humility

Sermonette: Unity Through Humility

#082s
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Given 26-Jun-93; 20 minutes

listen:

description: (hide) Rush Limbaugh claims that America was built on competition. Truly, America seems to be awash in competition, from sibling rivalry to classmate rivalry to athletic rivalry to academic rivalry to economic rivalry. Competition in the church, however, can lead to disaster, destroying harmony and unity. Competition is a form of conflict or war. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Pride elevates self and disdains others. Satan let his pride get the best of himself, elevating himself against everything, including God. Competition becomes deplorable when one is motivated to destroy the competitor. Competition and pride destroy unity; humility and cooperation enhance unity. We look after the interests of others as well as ourselves. We need to root out selfish ambition and conceit. We must develop an ample supply of longsuffering, remembering that to love God, we must also love our brother. There is a right and wrong way to approach a brother who does not share a similar belief. God’s calling of us was very gentle. Disagreements, especially among brethren, can be smoothed over in cooperation and peace rather than wrangling or disputing.