God
grant me the serenity
To
accept the things I cannot change;
Courage
to change the things I can;
And
wisdom to know the difference.
That’s how I
had always heard and seen the Serenity Prayer until recently. An article informed me that in its original
form the only pronouns used were plural.
In that form it was more about unified serenity, courage and wisdom
within the community of the kingdom. Having always thought it was about the individual
journey of a Christian, I pondered the difference and gained new insight in
four key areas.
First, we need to more fully appreciate
community within the kingdom. In the
parable of the lost sheep, the shepherd was not out trying to confront and
bring conviction on the wolf; instead, he was searching for a member of the
flock who had drifted away from the rest; who needed rescue, reorientation,
reconciliation and restoration.
Second,
the community needs unified wisdom.
Proverbs says that wisdom was the first work of God and it was by wisdom
that He laid the foundation of all creation.
In his epistle, James instructs believers to go to the Father in faith,
asking for wisdom and expecting Him to supply.
Third,
God’s people need collective and unified courage to apply wisdom that will
bring about God-honoring kingdom growth.
Sometimes this involves loving, but difficult confrontation.
One
beatitude of Jesus promises blessing to the peacemakers,
not the
peacekeepers. There is a
difference. Making peace usually
requires acknowledgement of the elephant in the room, confronting the elephant,
and dealing with it, so that real peace can abide in the room. Keeping peace is more about tiptoeing
nervously around the elephant, pretending not to notice it, and believing that
as long as nobody disturbs the elephant, all will be okay.
Only
godly wisdom can produce the courage to make changes that need to be made, but
sometimes that same wisdom instructs us to wait while God is at work. That’s when the fourth area becomes so very
important. That’s when we are able to
abide in the serenity that only God can give in spite of circumstances.
I
believe we can strengthen our churches (the individual communities within the
Kingdom) by applying the principles set forth by the Serenity Prayer in its
original form:
God grant us the serenity to accept
the things we cannot change;
Courage
to change
the
things that should be changed;
And
wisdom to know the difference.
by Marjorie Arrowood
Originally presented to the Leadership Team
Rutherfordton CBS
