It
was a case of corporate bullying. Conde Nast, the publisher of Vogue magazine,
recently sent a “cease and desist” letter to a family-run pub in Cornwall,
England. The Star Inn at Vogue is a small tavern whose owners quietly meet
the needs of locals and tourists in search of a glass of beer or a moderately
priced meal. All of that changed when global publishing giant Condé Nast swept
down on them with a cease and desist letter, slapping them with threats of a
lawsuit unless they stop using the name Vogue.
At first, the pub owners thought that it was a prank from some local. It wasn’t. It seems Vogue was “concerned that the name which [the pub is] using is going to cause problems because as far as the general public is concerned a connection between your business and ours is likely to be inferred.” But the pub is only located in a place called “Vogue.”
A tongue-in-cheek response from the owners set the publication straight. The owners wrote, “If a member of your staff had taken the time to investigate they would have discovered that our company, the Star Inn is in the small village of Vogue…in Cornwall. Yes, that's right Vogue is the name of our own village, which has been in existence for hundreds of years…I note in your letter that you have only been in existence since 1916 and I presume at that time when you chose the name Vogue (in the capitalized version) you did not seek permission from the villagers of the real Vogue for their permission...In answer to your question of whether we would change the name of our company, it is a categoric NO.”
Condé Nast, the owner of Vogue, has since sent another letter apologizing for ever hassling the pub.
Philippians 2:3-4 commands us: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Most of our disagreements would be solved by that simple prescription of selflessness. Arguing would virtually disappear. As parents frown at bickering amongst their offspring, our Heavenly Father frowns at it among us, His children.
Freedom comes from knowing who you are in Christ and being able to let things go. It’s trusting God to take care of matters and defend you. It’s a refusal to stay offended and being quick to forgive. It means being slow to speak and even slower to anger. Freedom comes from not holding a grudge from wrongdoing in the past that contaminates your life in the present.
It’s so freeing to know that you don’t need to always to be right. Peace-loving Christians know God’s peace and that peace with others comes from surrendering your right to always be right. While we can’t surrender God’s truth and what Scripture clearly teaches, nor is it peace at any cost, yet let’s be honest, that’s not what most disagreements between Christians are about. Most of that which causes our temperature to rise are very inconsequential and sometimes even laughable. Yet many believers are known more for what they argue about and the disputes they engage in than they are for the love of Christ that they’ve received and that must unite us.
There’s a cure for avoiding arguments, yet it’s one that’s very difficult – HUMILITY. James 4:10 says, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.” Pride is the mother of all sins. It’s a sin which causes so many other sins. Pride caused Satan to lead a celestial rebellion against God. Pride led to the fall of humanity in the Garden. Pride inflamed Cain to murder Abel. Millions have died because of the pride of power-hungry leaders and millions more have suffered terrible peril. Pride destroys more marriages, families, churches and relationships than any other sin. We want our way and our rights, and we’ll nearly fight to the death for them.
Humility commits to letting God be in control of every sphere of my life. It means that I yield myself completely to Him. It’s the starting point of having peace and being a peacemaker, not a peacebreaker.
Contention begins because from conflict on the inside. Peace with God is the first step to having internal peace so that you can have external peace. As Colossians 3:15 says, “let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.” We will be unable to get along with others if we don’t first have peace in our hearts through Christ’s rule.
Then, it means that you stop praying, “Lord, change them” and begin to pray, “Lord, change me.” You honestly pray “Thy will be done” instead of “my will be done.” When you can say “Lord, whatever You want that’s what I want,” the peace process begins.
When there is a conflict, humility begins by suspecting the sinner I know the best – ME. It’s being honest with myself and coming before the Lord, asking Him to point out my own sins and how I am contributing to a relational breakdown. It’s surrendering and confessing any sin of my own.
When there is a conflict, humility forgives quickly and completely. Most offenses never need to be brought to light. 1 Peter 4:8 says, “love covers a multitude of sins.” As our Heavenly Father overlooks so much in our lives like a parent overlooks the blunders of a toddler, so we must do that with others. We continually rub each other the wrong way because of our inherent sin nature. Most of it should be overlooked. Yet, if there is an offense, after it’s brought out and there’s an admission of wrong – forgive quickly. It’s what God does for us. He doesn’t carry grudges. He forgives quickly and completely. Henry Ward Beecher said, “Every man should keep a fair-sized cemetery in which to bury the faults of his friends.”
At first, the pub owners thought that it was a prank from some local. It wasn’t. It seems Vogue was “concerned that the name which [the pub is] using is going to cause problems because as far as the general public is concerned a connection between your business and ours is likely to be inferred.” But the pub is only located in a place called “Vogue.”
A tongue-in-cheek response from the owners set the publication straight. The owners wrote, “If a member of your staff had taken the time to investigate they would have discovered that our company, the Star Inn is in the small village of Vogue…in Cornwall. Yes, that's right Vogue is the name of our own village, which has been in existence for hundreds of years…I note in your letter that you have only been in existence since 1916 and I presume at that time when you chose the name Vogue (in the capitalized version) you did not seek permission from the villagers of the real Vogue for their permission...In answer to your question of whether we would change the name of our company, it is a categoric NO.”
Condé Nast, the owner of Vogue, has since sent another letter apologizing for ever hassling the pub.
Philippians 2:3-4 commands us: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Most of our disagreements would be solved by that simple prescription of selflessness. Arguing would virtually disappear. As parents frown at bickering amongst their offspring, our Heavenly Father frowns at it among us, His children.
Freedom comes from knowing who you are in Christ and being able to let things go. It’s trusting God to take care of matters and defend you. It’s a refusal to stay offended and being quick to forgive. It means being slow to speak and even slower to anger. Freedom comes from not holding a grudge from wrongdoing in the past that contaminates your life in the present.
It’s so freeing to know that you don’t need to always to be right. Peace-loving Christians know God’s peace and that peace with others comes from surrendering your right to always be right. While we can’t surrender God’s truth and what Scripture clearly teaches, nor is it peace at any cost, yet let’s be honest, that’s not what most disagreements between Christians are about. Most of that which causes our temperature to rise are very inconsequential and sometimes even laughable. Yet many believers are known more for what they argue about and the disputes they engage in than they are for the love of Christ that they’ve received and that must unite us.
There’s a cure for avoiding arguments, yet it’s one that’s very difficult – HUMILITY. James 4:10 says, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.” Pride is the mother of all sins. It’s a sin which causes so many other sins. Pride caused Satan to lead a celestial rebellion against God. Pride led to the fall of humanity in the Garden. Pride inflamed Cain to murder Abel. Millions have died because of the pride of power-hungry leaders and millions more have suffered terrible peril. Pride destroys more marriages, families, churches and relationships than any other sin. We want our way and our rights, and we’ll nearly fight to the death for them.
Humility commits to letting God be in control of every sphere of my life. It means that I yield myself completely to Him. It’s the starting point of having peace and being a peacemaker, not a peacebreaker.
Contention begins because from conflict on the inside. Peace with God is the first step to having internal peace so that you can have external peace. As Colossians 3:15 says, “let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.” We will be unable to get along with others if we don’t first have peace in our hearts through Christ’s rule.
Then, it means that you stop praying, “Lord, change them” and begin to pray, “Lord, change me.” You honestly pray “Thy will be done” instead of “my will be done.” When you can say “Lord, whatever You want that’s what I want,” the peace process begins.
When there is a conflict, humility begins by suspecting the sinner I know the best – ME. It’s being honest with myself and coming before the Lord, asking Him to point out my own sins and how I am contributing to a relational breakdown. It’s surrendering and confessing any sin of my own.
When there is a conflict, humility forgives quickly and completely. Most offenses never need to be brought to light. 1 Peter 4:8 says, “love covers a multitude of sins.” As our Heavenly Father overlooks so much in our lives like a parent overlooks the blunders of a toddler, so we must do that with others. We continually rub each other the wrong way because of our inherent sin nature. Most of it should be overlooked. Yet, if there is an offense, after it’s brought out and there’s an admission of wrong – forgive quickly. It’s what God does for us. He doesn’t carry grudges. He forgives quickly and completely. Henry Ward Beecher said, “Every man should keep a fair-sized cemetery in which to bury the faults of his friends.”
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