My Way

** Disclaimer: I, in no way, am attempting to bash any particular church with this post. God has put this much-neglected topic on my heart to share and I am only being obedient. If you are offended, maybe you should be. God is. **

Division. It's the elephant in our sanctuaries that nobody likes to talk about, but this doesn't change the fact that it is real. It is a nasty by product of the flesh that, if left unchecked and unchallenged, will grow so big that it will cause irrevocable damage while grieving the very heart of God.

We, as Christians, are set apart. We are not supposed to conform to the ways of this world. We are not supposed to treat one another poorly and operate our churches like corporate America.

Jesus, in his prayer recorded in John 17, prayed that we would be one. Paul, in his epistles, reminded us about the importance of unity in the body and keeping the bond of peace (see Ephesians 4).

The harsh reality is that when there is division within a body, it gives Satan a foothold. And, from what I have experienced, this foothold is enough to unleash horrific travesties that are far reaching into the life of a body.

I did not grow up in the church; I only went sporadically as a child. It wasn't until I was 20 years old that I came to rededicate my life to Christ and attend church on a weekly basis.

Most churches, just like most families, look okay on the outside. It's only when you stick around awhile and see the inner workings of living out life together that things start to look amiss.

I think sometimes it is easy for us to ignore warnings in scripture, or to assume that the message doesn't pertain to me. This is both wrong and extremely dangerous.

Galatians 5:19-21 states:

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

It's easy to say that I am not a lustful whore sorceress who gets drunk at wild parties, but do you see the middle section in blue??

Those sins directly correlate to division in the church. No one is immune. I'm not insinuating that churches are perfect. How could they be? We live in a fallen world and churches are made up of imperfect people.

What I will be bold enough to say is that church leaders need to be in prayer and be diligent; don't ignore the elephant because it is uncomfortable. Church members need to be in prayer for the church and its leaders. We are called to speak the truth in love and in certain situations that is a hard thing to do, but necessary when you consider the alternative.

A dearly-loved pastor once preached a sermon about division. I remember being so taken aback on one of his illustrations: A church splitting over what shade of green to paint the sanctuary.

This couldn't be true I thought, but unfortunately I've come to experience that in some cases people create division over a lot less. And division has a way of spreading like poison. Before you know it, this poison has infiltrated every facet of the body.

When we are so focused on getting our way, whatever way that may be (paint color, music styles, meeting dates, and so on ad nauseum) we completely lose our focus on Jesus. We become impotent. We are so completely self-absorbed that we only care about winning our battles regardless of the casualties.

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. ~ 1 Peter 4:8

Lord, help us to be a united people who are focused on You, for Your ways are not our ways. Let us be a people who love with Your love and extend grace instead of hoarding it. When we sin against you and contribute to division, trying to get our way like a tantrumming toddler, help us to quickly confess those sins and turn from wickedness. May everything we do and everything we say glorify You. Amen.