PHILIPPIANS 4:1-9

4:1 Therefore my brothers, , who I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.

2 I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord.

3 Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.

5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;

6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

What will you be remembered for after you’re gone?  That’s a question that you don’t think about much when most of the sand is still in the top half of your hour glass.  If you’re like most people though you want to be remembered for being a good person.

What you don’t want of course is what happened many years ago when a minister was asked to do a funeral for a man he didn’t know.  When the time came for the eulogy the minister praised the dearly departed and said he was a man of honesty and integrity, a hard working man, a generous man who was loyal to his friends and showed kindness to family and strangers alike.  That’s when the man’s widow nudged her six year old son. “Johnny,” she whispered, “go up there and make sure it’s papa.”

What will you be remembered for after you’re gone?  Unfortunately, Euodia and Syntyche will be remembered for their quarrel.   Euodia and Syntyche were important women in the Philippian Church.  We don’t know what the quarrel was about but we do know that it was tearing the Philippian Church apart.  We also know that it was weighing heavily on the Apostle Paul’s heart.

That’s because Paul was very found of the Christians in the Philippian Church.  You can see that in the letter that he wrote to them.  Paul calls the Philippians his “joy and crown.” In his letter he says that loves them and longs to see them.

So it was painful for Paul to know that the Philippians were being torn apart by Euodia and Syntyche’s quarrel.   Now to be fair, Euodia and Syntyche weren’t all bad.  They did do a lot of good during their lives.  In fact Paul says that the two women actually labored side by side with him while he preached the gospel.  Unfortunately, what Euodia and Syntyche are remembered for today is their quarrel.  They’re remembered for their quarrel that brought a lot of emotional pain and suffering to the Christians in the Philippian Church and to the Apostle Paul.

When you look at what happened to Euodia and Syntyche it brings you face to face with a simple singular truth.  Anger is a contagious poison.  It can quickly spread from one person to another and in no time at all it can destroy all the good that you’ve done over the years.  Unfortunately, you don’t have to look very far to see that today.   Everywhere you look people are fighting about something and they’re not friendly disagreements either.  What you see these days is a slash and burn take no prisoners kind of anger.   You see kids being bullied at school. That’s what happened a few weeks ago at the high school over in Franklin.  Maybe you saw the video that showed how one student stepped out from behind a wall and sucker punched an unsuspecting classmate.  The student was recently arraigned on charges of assault and battery. You see the destructive anger in the incidents of road rage that you read about in the newspaper.  Turn the television on and you’ll see politicians throwing mud at each other and accusing each other of being vile and evil human beings.  Everywhere you look you see pushing and shoving and name calling.  Is that really what people want others to remember about them after they’re gone? You even see this dark anger coming from some pulpits.

Did you hear about the Mother’s Day sermon that Pastor Charles Worley gave a few weeks ago?   Charles Worley is the pastor of the Providence Road Baptist Church in Maiden, North Carolina.  Listen to what he said in his Mother’s Day sermon.  I’m going to read what he said because I want to make sure I quote him exactly. He said, “I figured a way out, a way to get rid of all the lesbians and queers but I couldn’t get it pass the Congress – build a great big large fence, 50 or a hundred miles long. Put all the lesbians in there, fly over and drop some food. Do the same thing with the queers and the homosexuals. And have that fence electrified so they can’t get out. And you know what?  In a few years they will die out.  You know why?  They can’t reproduce.”

You know what’s really sad?  Pastor Worley has probably done a lot of good things in his life.  He’s probably helped a lot of people but now he’s going to be remembered for his hate filled tirade.

What do you want people to remember about you?  As you ponder that question here’s another image for you to ponder.  Anger is also like a black hole.  If you get too close it will suck you in.  Before you know it your head is full of negative thoughts and all kinds of nasty feelings start pouring into your heart. That’s what happened late one night when a man got a flat tire.  Unfortunately the man was out in the middle of nowhere and it was raining.  The rain was coming down in buckets.  To make matters worse when the man opened his trunk he discovered that his jack was missing.  “What do I do now?” he said to himself.  Just then he noticed a dimly lit farm house off in the distance.  The man said to himself, “I bet, the farmer will have a jack that I can borrow.”  As the man walked to the farm house it occurred to him that there was a good change the farmer had already gone to bed. “He isn’t going to be very happy when he hears me pounding on his door,” the man said to himself.   The man continued to walk toward the farm house.  By now he was soaking wet.  “He’s probably going to be so angry he won’t let me borrow his jack.”   The rain and the wind continued to swirl around him.  “He’ll probably to be so angry he’ll tell me to get lost and slam the door in my face.” 

The more the man walked the more he thought and the more he thought the angrier he got.  So, when the farmer came to the door and asked, “Who’s there?”  The man shouted, “You know very well who’s here. It’s me.  And as far as I’m concerned you can keep your lousy jack.”

That anger filled black hole is out there.   It can suck you in and quickly ruin all the good that you’ve done. Paul knew that which is why the words of wisdom he shared with the Philippians are just as important for us today.   After Paul encourages the Philippians to help Euodia and Syntyche end their quarrel he share with them these words of wisdom:  “Finally, brothers (and sisters) whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

That’s the answer to that angry black hole that’s swirling around out there.  It’s one of the keys to being remembered for the good that you’ve done.  You look for the good in the person who talked about you behind your back.  You compliment the  neighbor who thinks he’s better than you.  You tell him how impressed you are with his vegetable garden. You tell the woman who never has anything good to say about anyone that you admire her for the way she raised her children all by herself.  

Many years ago a letter appeared in the Dear Abby column.  The letter was about a teenager who was about to graduate from high school.   The teenager came from a very wealthy family and was sure that his father was going to buy him a new car for a graduation gift. In fact in the month leading up to the graduation the father and son spent a considerable amount of time looking at different cars. Eventually, they found a car that they both like.  So, you can imagine the son’s disappointment when he graduated and his father handed him a gift wrapped Bible.  The son was so angry he threw the Bible down and stormed out of the house.  From that point on the son refused to have anything to do with his father.  Years later the son received word that his father had died and left everything to him.  So, the son returned to the house he grew up in and while he was there he found the Bible his father gave him when he graduated.  When the son opened the Bible he found a cashier’s check.  The date on the cashier’s check was the same day the son graduated from high school and the cashier’s check was for the exact amount of the car that the father and son had chosen together.

It’s amazing how one angry word or deed can overshadow all the good that you do during your life.   Just ask Euodia and Syntyche.  Just ask that young man whose father gave him that Bible. “Finally, brothers (and sisters) whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”  Think about these things and when the time comes you’ll be remembered for the good that you did.  Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes

May 27, 2012