Welcome to Day 1414 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Unity During Social Unrest – Meditation Monday

Wisdom - the final frontier to true knowledge. Welcome to Wisdom-Trek! Where our mission is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Hello, my friend, I am Guthrie Chamberlain, your captain on our journey to increase Wisdom and Create a Living Legacy. Thank you for joining us today as we explore wisdom on our 2nd millennium of podcasts. This is Day 1414 of our Trek, and it is time for Meditation Monday. Taking time to relax, refocus, and reprioritize our lives is crucial in order to create a living legacy. For you, it may just be time alone for quiet reflection. You may utilize structured meditation practices. In my life, Meditation includes reading and reflecting on God’s Word and in prayer. It is a time to renew my mind, refocus on what is most important, and making sure that I am nurturing my soul, mind, and body. As you come along with me on our trek each Meditation Monday, it is my hope and prayer that you, too, will experience a time for reflection and renewing of your mind.

 Today’s world seems to be so unsettled. The vocal minority desire to do destroy, do away or ignore the past. Most of us do seek justice in our own lives and the lives of others. We seek peace and unity in the future. Today let us meditate on:

Unity During Social Unrest

The apostle Paul spoke the truth about God, the Father, Son, and Spirit. Paul wrote about God’s desire for a new covenant people where we are all equal and united in God. Galatians 3:26-28: For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. Significant prejudice is undoubtedly not a new issue. It has been with humanity since the beginning of creation. Let’s look back in the first century, shortly after the time of Christ. Almost everyone in the earliest days of the church was Jewish. Prejudice was a significant problem. Sometimes that prejudice manifested itself toward non-Jews who were coming to Christ and being added to the church, which was the dominant problem addressed in Acts chapters 10-15. However, prejudice was also an issue between sub-groups within the Jewish community. Grecian Jews who were in Jerusalem, and who had become disciples of Christ, made an accusation of discrimination. Their widows who did not speak the native language in Jerusalem were being overlooked and were going hungry while the native-speaking widows were receiving better care and more ample provision as the early Christians shared their possessions. Sharing of provisions is found in Acts 4:32-35.

Rather than denying the accusation of prejudice or ignoring this charge of discrimination, The apostles acted very wisely. Notice what they did:

1. Openness
2. The apostles brought all the community of disciples together to discuss this issue — no secret meetings and no sweeping the problem under the rug!
3. Calling
4. The apostles pointed out that their primary calling was to proclaim the message they had received from God.
5. Involvement
6. The apostles called on the church family to be involved in the solution to this problem — more than just being open with the communication, the apostles were asking for help in selecting men to find a solution.
7. Direction
8. The apostles gave clear criteria for selecting those who would be part of the ministry team to the Grecian widows and asked the whole congregation to put forward leaders who fit this description.
9. Participation
10. The congregation of believers selected seven men who fit the criteria of being full of the Spirit and wisdom.
11. Empathy
12. The congregation recognized the need for those who could understand both the language of the Grecian widows and also their plight as hungry foreigners in the homeland of their ancestors. As a result, they chose men who had Greek names — one was even a non-Jewish proselyte — and who would be familiar with the Greek language these widows spoke.
13. Appointment
14. The apostles publicly commissioned or ordained these men for service and publicly prayed for their ministry.
15. Growth
16. The problem was overcome, the message continued to spread, and many came to faith in Christ.
17. Equipping
18. Some of these men selected to serve the widows later became essential leaders in other ways.
19. Focus
20. The apostles devoted themselves to their calling — prayer and sharing the message of Christ. They also encouraged and equipped others to engage in ministry.

Meditate on these ten principles of great leadership and congregational problem-solving that are listed above. These are great principles to put into practice among Christians today. All of society would benefit from them. Every problem has the potential for disaster or development. Led by the Holy Spirit, the apostles turned this potentially crippling problem into an opportunity for the development and growth of Christ disciples.

 Imagine how unaddressed prejudice could have wrecked the growth of the early church. However, the Spirit’s guidance through Godly leaders turned around this potential disaster. Instead of disaster, the actions of the leading disciples became the springboard for more significant growth. It also provided a new group of leaders the opportunity for development and service.

To set the stage for today’s scripture, think about the issue. Things were going well, and the number of disciples was growing. But a problem arose. The Greek-speaking believers became frustrated with the Hebrew-speaking believers. The Greeks complained that the Greek-speaking widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food. The twelve convened the entire community of disciples. Here is how unity was achieved during social unrest.

Acts 6:1-7

But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food.

So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.”

Everyone liked this idea, and they chose the following: Stephen (a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit), Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch (an earlier convert to the Jewish faith). These seven were presented to the apostles, who prayed for them as they laid their hands on them.

So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too.

That is a wrap for today’s Meditation, next week; we will continue our trek on Meditation Monday as we take time to reflect on what is most important in creating our living legacy. On tomorrow’s trek, we will explore another wisdom quote. This 3-minute wisdom supplement will assist you in becoming healthy, wealthy, and wise each day. Thank you for joining me on this trek called life. Encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along tomorrow for another day of ‘Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.’  

If you would like to listen to any of the past 1413 daily treks or read the daily journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on your favorite podcast player so that each day will be downloaded to you automatically.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most importantly, I am your friend as I serve you through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this Trek of life together, let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend to others Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

I am Guthrie Chamberlain….reminding you to ’Keep Moving Forward,’ ‘Enjoy your Journey,’ and ‘Create a Great Day…Everyday’! See you tomorrow!