Earlier in the Acts of the Apostles, we read that “The community of believers was united in heart and soul; no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, as everything they owned was held in common” (Acts 4:32-35). But much later when the human element stepped in, that ideal became threatened by selfishness and clannish mentality. A section of the group decided to follow the “I know more than you,” “I am better than you,” “I am richer and more influential than you,” mentality. Consequently, the majority Hebrew Jews who prided themselves as those who knew better, decided to take the lion share in the daily distribution of the common goods, thereby neglecting the Hellenist Jews who were the minority.
This is one problem with humans; we often put aside the value of care for others, especially the less privileged and project our own egos. We poison the community with our perverted ideas and damn the consequence; when we allow ourselves to be overtaken by greed. We worsen up relationships and create animosities where there should be peace and harmony. In situations like these, conflicts will most certainly arise. Please, let’s realise that no conflict can be resolved when demands of underrepresented groups are compromised. No conflict can be resolved when people selected to resolve conflicts are themselves corrupt. And come to think of it, the reason we display all these emotions is because we feel we are members of the inner caucus; we are scared we may be left out of “our inheritance” or “national cake” as we sometimes call it.
Let us learn from the early Christians themselves how they provided a solution to these conflicts: They did not take sides. They decided in favor of the common good and weaker members. They let service be their watchword. They paid attention to higher values like prayer and worship and instead set up a committee of 2nd level managers (‘the deacons’) to take care of the conflict.
In setting up the committee, they choose people of integrity “men of good reputation, filled with the Spirit and with wisdom” (Acts 6:4); not just people they wanted to reward because they belonged to the same “party.” How can we reshape our world if we don’t consider these values in our national or even local settings? Think about the words of Jesus: “in my father’s house there are many mansions” (John 14: 2) and forget this needless struggle over positions, trampling upon people simply because we want the lion share of everything.
Disclaimer: The opinion expressed in this article is strictly that of the author, Rev Fr Peter Obele Abue PhD, and does not represent Theluminenews, its agent or the organisation the author works for/with.