15 September 2009 Devotion for Today "Weapon of Mass Destruction" Philippians 2:1-4

15 September 2009 Devotion for Today "Weapon of Mass Destruction" Philippians 2:1-4

"Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others." Philippians 2:1-4

Here is a disturbing thought- perhaps one you might not relish this early in the day: what is the greatest weapon of mass destruction? The Atom bomb, the hydrogen bomb, clusters of sarin nerve gas? What about carpet firebombing or biological weapons? To picture their destructive power is too gruesome even to imagine.

But someone once told me that the greatest weapon of mass destruction is disunity. This might be hyberbole, but as I reflect on this thought today, I can certainly see how this is so. Usually we think of weapons of mass destruction as nuclear warheads in the hands of crazed terrorists. But even the chaos that they can unleash is nothing to be compared to the destruction caused by people who will not work together. Here is what I mean. If you can get two or three people to work together, there is nothing that they cannot do. They can accomplish more than each of the three can do individually. Their potential is limitless, their power, unequaled. On the other hand, get three people who refuse to be united and their power to create trouble is probably ten times more destructive than the good that they could have done had they been working together. It is a good thing that evil men have not found a way to isolate and harness the power of this kind of destruction, or we would have more to be concerned about than a few dozen atomic bombs.

Paul has much affection for the Philippian church. They had done so many things for Christ and had grown quickly as they followed Christ. In fact the church grew to almost overshadow all the others in terms of their influence and power as they preached the Gospel. Yet some cracks were beginning to form that Paul was beginning to see and to be concerned about. He pleads with them as earnestly as he could, as it says in the KJV "if any bowels and mercies". That's the way they expressed as we would say, "down deep in my heart". But Paul was concerned that Satan would get in and try to drive them apart with disunity brought about by selfish ambition and pride, which threatened not only to undo what good they had done, but create such a negative impact the likes from which they could never recover.

This is why he pleads with them not to be concerned only with what they wanted, but on what others wanted. I've been reflecting upon this quote today and there is much truth in it: "If you will first help people get what they want, they will help you get what you want."- Zig Ziglar. May God help you to do this and work hard to build unity around you instead of a weapon of mass destruction.

Prayer: Dear God, I have a lot of things that I want to do today. But help me not to think about what I have on my plate. Other people's plates are full, and they are trying to succeed as I am. Lord give me the grace not to compete with them in pride, but help me to find ways that I can help them become successful so that we can glorify You as the greatest force in the world.
In Jesus Name, I pray. Amen

Have a blessed day!