Tuesday, September 30, 2025

New Testament Reading Plan: 2 Corinthians 6

My husband and I just celebrated our 37th anniversary! 

He is a great husband. I love and adore that man, but we still have our tiffs and, sometimes, strong disagreements. A couple of our more frequent disagreements are whether the sheets should be tucked in when we go to sleep and the correct way to load the dishwasher. These may seem like silly things to argue about, but they can snowball into serious arguments. 

The sheets and dishwasher are just preferences; serious issues can be more difficult to navigate. It is easy to fly off the handle when we disagree or feel disrespected. Unfortunately, this causes strife and leads to disunity. 

But God calls us to live in unity. That doesn’t mean agreeing about everything, but it does mean communicating with others in a loving, respectful way when we disagree. It is learning to be more like Jesus.

Ephesians 4:15
Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.

Speaking the truth in love can be very difficult. When we are angry, it is easy to focus on being right. We can become stubborn and angry and not listen to what the other person is saying. We may be so focused on winning the argument that we don’t realize our actions are deeply wounding someone. Consistent bad communication ruins relationships. This is not the harmony God wants for our lives. Instead, he calls us to behave differently. 

We can stop when we feel angry and take a deep breath. Count to ten, pray, and ask for wisdom. Then we can ask ourselves:

Do I have an unmet need that is making me angry?

Why am I reacting so strongly? 

Next, we need to be open and really listen to the person. Ask good questions instead of trying to win the argument. Be humble and focus on the other person's needs and concerns instead of our own. We can respectfully ask for what we need and work on a compromise.

Sometimes, the answer is agreeing to disagree. We need to just let it go and focus on the amazing and wonderful things about that person instead of the few things that bug us.

In other words, we need to love others as Jesus loves us!

Questions: 
What do you frequently argue with your loved ones about?

How do you respond when you feel disrespected?

How can you respond more like Jesus?

Next Steps: 
Pray and ask for wisdom and kindness when you start to feel irritated and angry. 

Ask good questions, and really listen to the other person. Even when you disagree with someone, show them respect and lean in. Ask good questions and listen to their response with a desire to understand them better, rather than coming up with an argument in response.

Prayer: 
Jesus, I am awed by how much you love me. You show me so much grace and mercy. Help me to always show that same grace, mercy, and love to others, especially when disagreements occur. Lord, I want to be more and more like you, but I can’t do it on my own. Change my heart to make me more and more like you. I love and adore you. Amen.

Series Theme Verse:
Romans 12:17-18
Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

This post was written by Marsha Raymond, an Oregon attendee, and a regular contributor to the Daily LivingItOut.