1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 NKJV
And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. Be at peace among yourselves.
Paul exhorted the Thessalonian Christians to have proper respect for their leadership. Then he said, "Be at peace among yourselves." These two things are definitely connected. When people do not properly respect their leaders, there is confusion, strife and all kinds of problems that result. (Neither Paul nor I amtalking about ungodly leaders who are not representing the Lord. We are dealing with leadership that is submitted to the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.) One of the lessons I learned over the years is that it is easier for me to live in peace when I gave proper respect to my husband in regards to his godly leadership. He was the head of our home, as well as my pastor. Some lessons I learned the hard way. However, through it all, I am far more at peace, having learned, and now functioning in that rule. Although I was not rebellious by nature, there were times when my emotions got the best of me. I knew I did not want to do what I thought he might suggest, and so I did what I wanted to instead of seeking his advice. After suffering from making decisions under that kind of influence several times, I concluded that whenever the thought came, "Don't ask him" that was a time I definitely needed to do the opposite. I don't know how many times church members have suffered a loss of peace because they did not give proper respect to their pastor and ended up making bad decisions. The scriptures tell us to resist the devil, not the Lord. Yet sometimes when we allow our emotions to control us, we end up resisting the wrong person. Let us ask the Lord to help us control our emotions so we can resist the ones we need to resist and submit to those we need to submit to. Then we can be at peace individually and collectively.