Philippians 2:2-4 - Make my joy complete by your unanimity, possessing the one love, united in spirit and ideals. Never act out of rivalry or conceit; rather, let all parties think humbly of others' interests rather than his own.
Thoughts: Well, this is not another Superbowl story. The verses from Philippians was part of the readings of Morning Prayer (Liturgy of the Hours) this morning. God's timing is always so good. I pretty much got slapped in the face on this issue Thursday night.
I was asked to chaperon a high school retreat on Thursday night. All I had to do was be there. Easy enough. All of the speakers were lined up everything was in motion. You know when you strive to serve others especially in the church you will struggle, you will be attacked by the evil one. You would think, if I am trying to serve the church, all of the pettiness and jealousy wouldn't be a problem. I mean we are all of the same team for the same purpose, right?
Well, not so easy, we are still human after all. What, hopefully, makes us different is how we react to these emotions. OK, now for the self confession part.
I was listening to a very Holy man giving a talk about the Eucharist before adoration. As I listened to him, I was thinking about how I could give a way better talk. I was a harsh critic. This is an ongoing issue I have been having as I travel on my journey of faith and discipleship.
After a couple minutes of my critiquing, I thought, this is not right and I should not be thinking this way. We are all of the same team. I immediately started praying for the speaker and thanking God for his ministry.
You know we are taught today to be harsh critics. Even on Sesame Street we are taught to figure out which of these things is not like the others. We are taught that being critical is desirable and good. I am starting to think maybe not. We really need to put away rivalry and conceit and truly work for the same team.
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