Harmony

It is God’s plan for all of His creation to live in harmony. Those who seek otherwise are going against the teachings of Jesus the Christ. Ultimately those who accept the salvation that He provided will live in the peace and harmony He always intended for man to live in.

Our desire to live in harmony is an outward expression of our heartfelt, inward faith in God. Out of our heart the Holy Spirit speaks.

Harmony: Vengeance versus Blessing

Comparing the passages of 2 Sam 3:1–4:12 and 1 Pet 3:8–22 teaches us that all Scripture can be used for instruction: Some passages provide wisdom on how to become more like Christ, while others are best regarded as “things not to do.”

Peter’s first letter tells us, “be harmonious, sympathetic, showing mutual affection, compassionate, humble, not repaying evil for evil or insult for insult, but [instead] blessing others, because for this reason you were called, so that you could inherit a blessing” (1 Pet 3:8–9). We can find the same lesson, told a different way, in 2 Sam 3:1–4:12. The violence of the war between David and Saul’s houses vividly portrays how acts of vengeance rob us of harmony and blessing.

Some passages in the Bible are beautiful, while others are barbaric. Both teach us we’re not meant to live in vengeance, like the houses of David and Saul. While we realize these individuals often acted against God’s will, we should still recognize their love for God (when it’s present) and their desire to follow Him (when it appears authentic) and live in those ways. Jesus is the only leader in the Bible we can look to as a supreme example of righteousness. Every other person in the Bible is flawed in their humanity, but that gives us hope: God can use us, like He used them—despite their mistakes.

If we could live up to Peter’s ideals of living in harmony and showing sympathy to others, the world would certainly be a better place, but we can’t do so without depending on God. In the midst of chaos, or when we give in to ego, it’s hard to live the way we should, even when we are people of faith. But when we learn to follow God in being compassionate, humble, and a blessing to people, we create opportunity for Him to bring harmony and sympathy. If David and Saul’s men had put vengeance aside to seek God, their story would certainly have been less barbaric and far more beautiful.

Belial or Beliar only occurs once in the New Testament (2 Cor 6:15). Paul asks, “For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial (Βελιάρ, Beliar)? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?”

604 ἀποκαταλλάσσω [apokatallasso /ap·ok·at·al·las·so/] v. From 575 and 2644; TDNT 1:258; TDNTA 40; GK 639; Three occurrences; AV translates as “reconcile” three times. 1 to reconcile completely. 2 to reconcile back again, bring back a former state of harmony

1514 εἰρηνεύω [eireneuo /i·rane·yoo·o/] v. From 1515; TDNT 2:417; TDNTA 207; GK 1644; Four occurrences; AV translates as “have peace” once, “live peaceably” once, “live in peace” once, and “be at peace” once. 1 to make peace. 2 to cultivate or keep peace, harmony. 3 to be at peace, live in peace.

In To the Ephesians, Ignatius emphasizes the importance of assembling for worship. He notes, “May each one of you also become a choir so that in the harmony of your unity, taking the keynote from God in unity … And so it behooves you to be inseparable and unified so as to participate in God at all times” (IV). He goes on to tell the Ephesians that those who forsake assembling for worship demonstrate pride and therefore pronounce judgment on themselves. As his rationale, he cites Luke 12:42 and Matt 24:45, “God opposes the proud.” Furthermore, Ignatius noted that gathering together for worship is a spiritual weapon powerful enough to overthrow the powers of Satan