Working

Remember Tom Sawyer and the fence? Tom is painting the fence white and made it seem like he was having so much fun that others wanted to paint. Tom said "I don't know; if I let you paint that would be just one less board that I would get to paint." Before long everybody was doing Tom's work for him. There is an awful tragedy which happens on the battle field and they call it "friendly fire" don't let the words fool you for friendly fire is when you accidentally shoot or bomb your own fellow soldiers. In the Civil War, General Stonewall Jackson was killed accidentally by his own men. This has happened in every war that has ever been fought. Let's look in the book of Philippians and develop this matter further.

Philippians 4:2 I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord.

Philippians 4:3
And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life. These two women, who were members of this church at Philippi, and who seemed to have differences or some dispute or disagreement; either with each other, on account of some temporal and civil things, that caused them to fall out by the way. Here we see two women who for whatever reason had gotten upset with one other and it had not only caused a disagreement with each other but had caused them to stop their work for the Lord Jesus. Here we see some friendly fire going on with two of God's children firing upon each other as if they were the enemy. These two women, who used to fight together for the lives of lost people, are now fighting with each other. The enemy loves nothing more than to see Christians doing his work for him, wounding a child of God, discouraging a child of God, damaging the reputation of another child of God, distracting and derailing someone who could be making a difference in the battle. In combat, a soldier is crushed when he realizes that he's wounded one of his own. Unfortunately among believers, we feel like we've done a good thing by bringing down that brother or sister, why they deserve it, after all they did and said. Hudson Taylor's successor in the leadership of China Inland Mission knew how mission critical it is to fight the right battle and the right enemy. He said, "I will not send a person to the mission field unless he has learned to wrestle with the evil one. If he has not learned to wrestle with the evil one, he will wrestle with his fellow missionaries." So it is with you and I, if we fail to learn to wrestle with the evil one we too will wrestle with each other.

Ephesians 6:12
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Not with or against each other and if we fail to learn that we will wrestle with each other.

Ephesians 4:32
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.