Instruments of Harmony

Written by Muriel Larson

Learn more about how to live in harmony with others with Dr. Muriel’s Recipe for Peace.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9)

I grew up in a musical family. My mother played the piano and mandolin. Dad played the violin and drums. My brother played the trumpet. And I played the piano, organ, clarinet, and saxophone. For some reason, they wouldn’t let me carry a piano in the high school band.

As a pianist I have often helped others to get their instruments tuned up to the piano. With stringed instruments, every string must be tuned for the music to sound right. My father tuned pianos, and they have many more strings than hand-held instruments! If several keys are flat compared to the rest, there goes the harmony.

If several strings can cause disharmony in an instrument, just think what a few disgruntled Christians can do to a church. Well, think about it. Perhaps you can remember a church split of some kind that separated and scattered the people, and all because a few persons spread disharmony.

Do we listen? Do we join the discord? How can we save the harmony in our church?

When we first perceive the clink of a discordant note, we can get right with the Lord if necessary. Check Romans 12:1-2 and Psalm 51. Walking close to the Lord enables us to hear His guiding voice of wisdom. He fills our hearts with love and concern for our fellow Christians–all of them. He restrains us from adding to the discordance.
Abstain from gossip, criticism, or caustic debate. As we walk with Jesus, we will know in our hearts just how we may contribute to harmony and not to the cacophony.
Pray, pray, pray! Often when a piano gets out of tune, moisture may be involved. Well, when a church gets out of tune, the devil is probably involved. Peter counsels the church, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

“Resist him, standing firm in the faith.” (1 Peter 5:8-9) The devil loves to tear up churches!

Ephesians 4:26 tells us, “In your anger do not sin; do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.” We may get involved in church disharmony when we get up our “righteous indignation”. (Well, hey, that sounds a little more “Christian” than anger, doesn’t it?)

Our Lord knows the right way to handle every situation with a minimum of ill feelings. As we pray, God will show us His way to deal with anything–and He will help in the resolution.

God’s Word twice gives the following recipe for harmony: “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.” (1 Pet. 3:10-12; Ps. 34:12-16) And Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God.” (Matt. 5:9)

Lord, Help me to be a peacemaker in my circle of influence. Amen.

Questions: Are you part of the disharmony in your church? What steps can you take to become a peacemaker instead of causing disharmony?

Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, You’ve Already Won, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog

Tags: church, church split, devo, Devotional, discord, gossip, harmony, Matthew 5:9, Muriel Larson, peace, peacemaker, piano, pray, righteous indignation, Women

6 Responses to “Instruments of Harmony”

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Jamie says:

December 9, 2011 at 12:28 pm

Hey JJ, I am so glad that you have found the reality of God’s leading in your life. So how do you live out the instruction in Hebrews where we read, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another– and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:24-25)? I know for some people that becomes the real struggle of cutting ties with a local church. When a follower of Jesus is on their own they can become an easy target for Satan to deceive and get off of the path of God because they don’t have a group of commited brothers and sisters who are there to connect with.
JJ says:

December 2, 2011 at 5:34 am

I was the off key. Everyone was happy with the way church was going except me. So I left and couldnt be happier. Sometimes, its time to move on. I pray for their growth and strength and that they feel god’s presents as I do now. No hard feelings. His way is the best way.
Sharon says:

December 1, 2011 at 6:12 pm

I feel exactly what you are saying. I’m facing two church situations, because I am an employee at a private Christian Academy and have seen
where people that are in authority can barely be trusted anymore. My prayer is that we can all learn to walk with integrity and not use our authority to take advantage of people and situations that are vital to the
workings of the church…I think we’ve just gotten to involved in church
stuff and need to become more people oriented.
Brenda says:

December 1, 2011 at 6:39 am

Thank you for this devotional Muriel; I know that I used to be a very critical, negative person, but meditating on the love of the Lord in the Scriptures and on His peace has opened me up to His transforming power, and today I prefer to allow the Lord to shine His Light through me to others whenever he gives me the opportunity. Your devotional is a reminder to me to seek those opportunities more often and to praise the Lord, for He truly is a Life-changer!
Dr. Muriel Larson says:

July 21, 2009 at 4:53 am

Thank you, Marilyn, for your encouragement, and I do hope that what the Lord has led you to do concerning sharing this devotion with this bitter, angry man will cause him to stop and think about what he is doing to the church and his fellow Christians. May the Lord grant him a spirit of repentence. And may He bless and guide you as you seek to do His will!
Marilyn says:

July 20, 2009 at 6:31 pm

Muriel, the timing of this devotion is perfect, for a church friend/colleague of my husband’s is struggling with anger and resentment over changes taking place in our church, and he has allowed his bitterness to infect his heart. It seems like every time he sees either my husband, with whom he teaches Sunday school, or myself, he adds another layer of criticism to the heap, and his discouragement is draining! I forwarded this devotion to him, along with some words of encouragement and prayer, and am trusting the Lord to prompt him, according to His perfect plan! Surely, the Lord does not desire discontentment to taint our worship or our service for Him!