Listen/Download Audio of Agreement Is the Key
Remember that mankind needs agreement today more than it needs most of the things concerning which men disagree.
Agreement is one way of expressing our unity with God. If we first agree with God we shall then find it easy to agree with men. God designed men to be capable of expressing intelligence and good judgment; but He also permits each man to decide for himself whether he will follow the divine plan or his own.
There seems to be a strange psychic malady raging in the world today, which might be called “disagreement.” This malady is due to the fact that most men are following their own will rather than God’s will. Of course there have always been disagreements here and there in the world, but these have been increased during the past few years until they seem to cover the earth. All over the world great men in high places, as well as the little men and all the men in between seem to be suffering from this contagious malady.
There is disagreement about national and international matters as well as personal matters. Some of the nations that have been torn by war for years until they are nearly exhausted, are still fighting because their subjects cannot agree among themselves. What kind of logic or wisdom is back of this? Such things are not based upon logic or wisdom. These are symptoms of an irrational disease that feeds upon personal selfishness in men.
Peace on earth, which is the acme of sanity, must begin with agreement between men, and agreement among men begins with the agreement of men with God. When all men agree with God they will agree with one another.
Some men think they are agreeing with God when they say a prayer or attend church, but this is not enough. Their agreement must go deeper and touch their hearts. Those who pray and then turn and criticize others who are also trying to serve God but who are using a different method of approach have hardly grasped the spirit of Christian agreement. Of course we need not all use the same methods, but we should be unified in a common desire for harmony and understanding among all people.
Jesus the Christ said: “Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art with him in the way: lest haply the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou have paid the last farthing.” In this statement Jesus shows how the principle of spiritual agreement works in man’s affairs and then indicates how futile are the results of disagreement. We must pay for the folly of disagreement. Nothing can be gained by disagreeing with those who have different opinions from our own.
Disagreement usually originates in a preconceived notion held tenaciously by a personal ego who will not relax enough to consider fairly and honestly another person’s point of view. The very fact that I will listen with an open mind and a free spirit in order to discover what may be in the mind of my opponent proves that I have the spirit of agreement, and because I have it I may be able to understand him well enough to explain my position in terms of his thinking so that he and I may reach an agreement.
Most disagreements arise from lack of understanding. Suspicion, fear, and willful stubbornness often prevent agreement. I have known cases where two persons violently disagreed who really favored the same idea. They quarreled over words used that were not clearly defined. Their disagreement arose from a misunderstanding of terms and not from a fundamental difference of ideas.
A friendly habit of listening and talking quietly will help you to agree with your opponent. When there is a difference of opinion and one party delivers an ultimatum there is little chance of an early agreement.
Jesus presented another helpful thought on agreement in the following words: “Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father who is in heaven.” Here we see that agreement benefits those who agree, because it helps them to bring into manifestation in their affairs the blessings that God has prepared for them in spirit. Disagreement dissipates and drives away these blessings.
An attitude of harmony and understanding is very effective in maintaining peace, happiness, and success. Agreement is a meeting of minds in the realm of spiritual understanding. Agreement does not interfere with constructive plans, but promotes good for all.
In unity there is strength. Also there is strength and sanity in agreement. Disagreement brings war, loss of life, destruction of property, unhappiness, and all the train of ills that a discordant flesh is heir to. Christ’s teachings on matters of this kind have been thought by worldly, practical men to be too idealistic to apply to the practical affairs of life, but I believe every man will someday have to admit that the principles of conduct outlined by Jesus Christ are the most practical, simple, and satisfactory rules ever formulated to govern human conduct in modern daily affairs.
Agreement is of benefit to all those who wish to co-operate in any good enterprise. Failure to cooperate is always detrimental to all parties. Co-operation begins in spirit. Therefore, co-operation, agreement, and all unifying practices which make the world a better place to live in, really grow out of man’s observance of spiritual principles. These must be spiritually discerned and become deeply ingrained in the individual’s inner nature so that they direct his actions automatically from within.
If a man agrees with his adversary because he knows that God will enter into this transaction through his application of the principle of agreement, he will not be disappointed in the results of God’s law as applied to his affairs.
Why not use the key of agreement and unlock the door to the kingdom of heaven here and now?
SUGGESTIONS FOR DAILY MEDITATION
SUNDAY: I agree to live under the protection of God’s law of eternal and omnipresent goodness.
MONDAY: I agree with the good in every experience that I draw to me, and all is well with me.
TUESDAY: I seek for the spirit of agreement that God has placed in my heart, and I therefore am free from all outer discord.
WEDNESDAY: By agreeing with the good in my neighbor I make of him a good neighbor.
THURSDAY: I agree that there is only one presence and one power in me and in my affairs, and this presence and power is good.
FRIDAY: I agree to seek for the goodness of God in every experience that comes into my life.
SATURDAY: I am wise and harmonious in my consciousness and my dealings with others at all times, because I know that good is the only reality. When I learn how to tune in to the good I shall not need to listen to anything else.
