The REAL Serenity Prayer

 

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