Philippians 4:2-5 (NLT)
2And now I want to plead with those two women, Euodia and Syntyche. Please, because you belong to the Lord, settle your disagreement. 3And I ask you, my true teammate, to help these women, for they worked hard with me in telling others the Good News. And they worked with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are written in the Book of Life. 4Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again--rejoice! 5Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.

Paul was requesting that 2 women, Eudoia and Syntyche, more than likely deaconesses of the church, were to put aside whatever disagreement they had. It doesn’t say specifically who Paul asked to help, but he wanted intervention. These 2 women had worked hard for the gospel and they were now at risk of destroying the good work they had done. He mentions they had worked with Clement, who more than likely was the Bishop of Rome after the death of Peter and Paul. There are actual writings and documents left behind by Clement. Then Paul goes on to remind them to be full of joy in the Lord and rejoice for what they have. And they should be considerate in the things they are doing.


Christians are new creatures in Christ, but guess what? They still have some of those old fleshly ways left inside. Personalities between people will still come into conflict and if left unchecked feelings become hurt, and anger follows. It’s not so much the conflict that is the sin, but how the conflict is handled. For instance, pride steps in and says the other person insulted me; I am going to stay hurt until they apologize. Or bitterness finds its way into the heart because someone felt excluded. Someone takes an important position before you had a chance, so jealously rears itself. Disappointment harbors resentment because no one recognized you for your hard efforts. What we need to remember is that we ALL belong to the Lord and our work is for Him. It’s about rejoicing over the Good News we are sharing on behalf of the Lord and not what we are obtaining for ourselves. We need to rejoice and be full of joy in the Lord and remember when He returns He will give us credit for being good and faithful servants. Pray that conflicts between God’s people might be avoided. Pray for harmony and peace between God’s servants. Always be ready to serve the Lord and do so being full of joy.