The Truth about Agreement (Part III)

 

Many people find a sense of security and safety in agreeing with others, but the big question is, “Are we in agreement with God!?”

Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying:

In the above passage, the Lord told the Israelites that they were His chosen ones, but He was going to punish them because of their iniquities. Then He told them in Amos 3:3 how can two walk together but not be in agreement with each.  The point was that the Israelites could not walk with God because they were not in agreement with His ways.

In Christian circles, people tend to use Amos 3:3 out of context and they interpret it as if unless two people agree with one another, they cannot walk together. This faulty interpretation causes all kinds of unhealthy relationships among God’s people. They can feel obligated to agree with others even though at times that is not how they really feel in their hearts. 

Amos 3:3 is a reminder of the book of Genesis and how Adam walked with God and stayed in His presence before he sinned. Before the fall,  Adam was in perfect communion and agreement with God. However, once sin entered in, it changed everything. Adam decided to hide from God instead of being honest with the Lord about his sin. When the Lord confronted Him, instead of taking responsibility for his part, he blamed Eve for his actions. Adam also blamed God for giving Eve to him. God judged them both by putting a curse on each of them, and He ultimately drove them out of the Garden of Eden.

This is a sobering reminder that, first and foremost, we need to be in agreement with God. The moment we forget about this important part of our walk with God, it will set up us for failure in our relationship with the Lord as well as our relationship with others.

Adam’s desire to be in agreement with his wife became his downfall. God had already given him instructions about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but his beautiful wife had stolen his attention from what really mattered, which was remaining in agreement with God. So when Eve gave him the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam took it for he chose to be in agreement with his wife rather than God! Sadly, in the process, he jeopardized his relationship with the Lord!

We can become vulnerable when we actually have a good relationship with others. Over time, our admiration leads us to the desire to agree with them in every area of life. When we are not in agreement with them, it causes us great anguish. The anguish is not because we are in sin but because our focus has changed. Our desire to be in agreement with a person has taken precedence over the desire to remain in agreement with God. We need to be cautious in our relationship with those we admire.

Has agreeing with them become the focus of our lives!? Do we condemn ourselves for not being in agreement with them? Do we question ourselves or become confused about what is true? Or do we try to convince them of our point of view, so we won’t feel bad about not agreeing with them? Can we have the peace of God even when we are not in agreement with others?

Let us not forget that our agreement with Lord is the key priority that allows us to keep a sound mind and have the clarity to see things for what they are. Then we can choose to freely agree with what is true rather than being pressured to be in agreement with others for fear of losing a relationship.