Unity in Christ

This blog was supposed to be writing about the questions I have with the Roman Catholic Church. I still have some big questions about Roman Catholic dogma. But all of these have been addressed numerous times, by many different people, at many different times.

I am presently in Ft. Jackson, S.C. and have the privilege of serving with many different men (and a few women) of God, at the Chaplains Officer Basic Course. This part of the course is designed to put stress on the leader students and other students. As a prior service, I have experience, and have been placed as a Platoon (PLT) leader. I am being tested on issues that God has had to work on me before. One of these is the issue of pride. Pride makes me more concerned about competing with the other Platoon’s (PLT’s) rather than growing in brotherhood. Since my PLT is a direct reflection of what I’m in charge of, pride makes me more concerned about looking out for the image of my PLT more than it should be. Pride makes my speech more contemptuous, more conceited, and more divisive.

I noticed these old competitive thoughts (that the Army breeds) starting to creep back in. When an internal PLT dispute arose, due to other people’s misplaced pride…it hit me what one of my major callings will—and has always been in the back of my mind—to promote unity among the brothers of Christ.

This calling to the Chaplaincy has to do with me hearing about other Chaplain’s bickering when I was a young Infantryman. Now, I understand that everyone has issues. Chaplains are human beings as well. But when someone told me that they thought the Chaplaincy is more political than the other branches…it hurt me. I think that was an oversimplification. The Chaplaincy is full of hard working men and women of God. But when divisiveness strikes, it turns today’s post modern Soldiers off in a huge way. They see the pride and hypocrisy coming through on petty disputes (that we hold onto because of our own insecurities).

Chaplains are the salt for these Soldiers. We need to stay humble and serve our Lord with faith. We need to stay clear of the thoughts in our own minds that push us to be prideful and look out only for ourselves. We need to be lights for Christ.

This is the verse that I shared with my Platoon this morning: Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:3).