If there is no good to do a thing, why try to invent one?
Acts 6:2 – Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.
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So, here’s a question for you. If there is NO reason to do a thing, why try to invent one? Of course, the answer is a simple one. The reason for such invention is always selfish. In the case of the Acts 6 passage, people, in this case, the Gentiles, were comparing themselves among themselves (Gentile believers versus Jewish believers), and rightly or wrongly (and in life, it is all too easily, wrongly), determined that they were being treated unfairly. Is it possible they were? Absolutely. Should this have been used for they purpose they applied it? No! It should have been the subject of prayer, allowing Holy Spirit to provide a created solution rather than demanding that men provide one. You see, when demands are placed on men to provide that which best comes from the Lord, the potential for misdirection rises markedly.
As long as men seek to justify themselves, selfishness will have a place to work. As long as men work to find a way to advantage themselves above one another, selfishness will find space to propagate. As long as men attempt to destroy someone else’s reputation for the purpose of advancing their own, selfishness will work as a cancer where such attempts are plied, and that includes a local body of Christ, or the body of Christ as a whole. As long as the church allows politics to reside in its board rooms, denominationalism to reign from its pulpits, and personal ambitions to rise from its pews, the place for selfishness remains well established inside the walls of the church. In light of that consideration, another question arises. What is the church doing with the command of the Lord saying, “Neither give place to the devil?”
This thought must become the personal property of each and every believer, individually. The Scriptures are very clear about how we are to handle issues of potential disagreement. If a believer cannot find it in him/herself to go to an individual with whom a problem exists, or cannot find a specific Scriptural command about how to handle a situation, or is not aware of a truly Word-based source of counsel in whom one can confide, the answer always has been, is now, and while the church exists, forever will be, PRAYER. Take it to the Lord in prayer, not to a committee in place. Discipline yourself to be led by the Spirits and not directed by strife. Why should ANY man or woman of God, ANY leader of the church EVER be forced to handle issues of strife? And the final answer is, “There is NO REASON for that to ever happen; at least, no GOOD reason.”
Manna for Today – Acts 6:1-7; 2 Corinthians 10:7-18; Ephesians 4:27
My Second Miler by Dr. Beechard Moorefield 