We live in a world with much turmoil, disagreement, and division. When we find a person or a group of people with similar views as ours, it is a breath of fresh air to us. Agreement allows us not to feel alone in the midst of all the voices, and it helps us feel stronger and more powerful than if we were alone standing on our convictions.
The Lord desires for His people to be in unity and agree with one another. However, not every agreement is a good agreement. If the agreement is not based on truth, but it is founded on a personality or agenda, it can cause more harm than good.
And they agreed with him, and when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Acts 5:40
Agreed (G3982) to persuade, i.e. to induce one by words to believe, to make friends of, to win one’s favor, gain one’s good will, or to seek to win one, strive to please one, to tranquilize, to believe: to have faith: in a thing to believe, to be persuaded of a thing concerning a person to listen to, obey, yield to, comply with, to trust, have confidence.
The above definition points out that we can agree with someone to gain one’s favor, to try make friends with, or to tranquilize them. Those would be wrong reasons to come into agreement with someone. This is based on the person looking for a personal benefit from the agreement, and it is man appeasing.
Sometimes people gather together to agree based on their dissatisfaction about a situation; sadly, this can lead to unnecessary problems or revolt. Individuals may have never had anything in common before but now working against someone or something has brought them together. Those kinds of agreements can be dangerous because you can be more concerned about the issue at hand than the character and motive of the person that you come into agreement with.
Jesus was opposed by different groups such as Pharisees and Herodians who did not have anything in common with each other except that they were all Jewish. These groups were known to have been in enmity with each other based on their spiritual and political stance on issues, but when they perceived Jesus to be a threat to them, they joined forces in order to remove Him. Their common ground was opposing Jesus. Their agreement was a wrong agreement based on carnality, and it produced death in their lives. Just because they had a group of people agreeing with them, it didn’t mean they were right. Truth does not require consensus. It can stand alone.
Are you in agreement with others due to disliking someone or some situation? Are there people who are trying to get your agreement based on their own issues or insecurities?
Pray and ask the Lord to give you clarify regarding your agreements with others and ensure that they are producing life and not a fleshly satisfaction.