Divided and Conquered - Part 2

As I mentioned in my first post about this issue (Divided and Conquered - Part 1), the church has seemingly completely ignored Jesus' teaching in John 13:34-35, instructing his followers to love one another and how in doing so others will know that they are actually Jesus' followers. Divided as we have become and so eager as so many Christians are to attack and defame others who call Jesus 'Lord' because of various differences, it's no wonder why many people consider us to be full of it when it comes to what we claim about Jesus and about how following him truly makes a positive difference in our lives. I mentioned how we in part have the Protestant Reformation to thank for introducing this concept of breaking away and only associating with people who think, act, and believe like we do. And as I write this, my heart is very heavy, because this practice has been going on for so long now that it's considered normal and right among far too many Christians, and not only does it continue to make so many in the outside world consider us mindless followers of a farce, but it also denies us the opportunity for iron to sharpen iron, so to speak - which I will get more into in another post.



Why Do We Divide Ourselves?


For now, I want to dig even deeper into this matter of being divided against each other by probing this question: Why do we keep dividing against each other, when Jesus clearly teaches that we are to love one another?

•  It's what we know: Like I mentioned earlier, we have a dubious heritage of division that has been passed down for generations so that most of us have been raised to believe that it's not only okay to speak ill of others outside of our particular group, but that God encourages it, since we're right and they're obviously wrong. Unfortunately, we pass this along to our children as well, which only continues to propagate this disease - unless, when they get old enough, they get fed up with the whole thing and either divide themselves from their particular piece of the church, leave the church altogether out of disillusionment, or eventually see the reality of this disease of division for what it really is and strive to fight back against it against all odds. (My hope is always for the latter, the path I eventually found myself on after much stumbling and falling.)
• Because we're tired of the status quo: Yes, even though the church is in the midst of what could certainly be considered another reformation, so many who are seeing Jesus' life and teachings anew with excitement and love are following in their Protestant forebears footsteps and breaking off from churches who are 'stuck in old ruts', so to speak, to create their own fellowships, full of people who see things like they do. Instead of doing more to stay within existing churches and help promote Jesus' life, love, and teachings within the church as it is - no matter what opposition they may face in the process (it's not like Jesus nor his early followers had an easy road in opening others' eyes either) - so many of these prophetic voices are breaking away to create their own movements and churches. Sure, some are called to bring life to new communities, I will never deny that, but so many more are called to help bring new life to existing communities, to help the church shake off the cobwebs of detrimental traditions and ways of thinking and believing that, in truth, have no real basis in Jesus' teachings, nor the teachings of the early church in the New Testament, nor even in the rest of the Bible (in it's proper context that is - meaning, Jesus, his gospel, and his teachings first and foremost, the New Testament second, the wisdom and teachings of the Old Testament third, then the Apocalyptic passages and books {Daniel, Revelation, etc.} - more on this later). If the church is ever going to become anything like its former self in the years that had followed Jesus' death and resurrection that we read about in the New Testament, it is essential that those whose eyes have been opened do not abandon the church as it exists now when the going gets tough and the hardliners and naysayers oppose us. This is why, as tempted as I have been to break away and start my own thing, I cannot abandon my brothers and sisters to take that easy path. I care about them too much and want to see them all embracing Jesus' love and one another anew again.
• Because there's too much at stake in society: I know this one sounds a bit odd to some people, but one of the biggest reasons why the church continues to oppose itself is that there still exists this great deception that the church is meant to wield power over culture, society, and politics. The great "miscarriage of the church", as I like to call it, started back during the era of Constantine and has had a grip on the church and its various forms and divisions ever since. This great lie has made Christians throughout the ages mistakenly believe that we're meant to control society and make it more moral and just by way of rules and regulations and laws, forcing everyone to obey in hopes that even if they don't want to follow the rules, they'll see the light and come to follow Jesus at some point. To someone who believes that Jesus brings about change in people through transformation by his love and through the Holy Spirit, the idea that domination can make a positive difference in society is absolutely ludicrous. Those still held captive by this prevailing lie within the church often tend to lean on politics and acquiring political influence to press for 'moral' laws and regulations, trying to force a 'Biblical worldview' on everyone, Christian and non-Christian alike, often ignorant of the true harm they are doing, such as building up resentment - in this case, undue resentment - against the church for something that's not even of Christ in the first place, making us look more power-hungry, overbearing wanna-be dictators rather than loving, caring followers of Jesus Christ, and often brings out all forms of nastiness and vindictiveness in those very Christians themselves as they 'do battle' for political, societal, or cultural control. The 'Culture War' not only destroys the church's integrity and legitimacy, it also divides us even more against each other - because not every Jesus-follower has the same purposes and objectives. Sometimes it's a matter of who has power and who doesn't, or even a fundamental difference, such as one group focusing more on individual morality (such as human sexuality, etc.), whereas another focuses on corporate morality (such as standing up for the poor, etc.), but wherever a difference arises, we've taken the opportunity to divide ourselves further from each other, drawing ever more lines in the sand. To address this plainly and clearly, I'll use an overused maxim: The ends NEVER justify the means. If we must divide ourselves and fight ourselves for a cause, then the division and enmity is not worth any measure of success we may have.
• Because anyone can make the Bible say anything: This is a HUGE point of division, but it's VERY TRUE. Because of the long span of history that writings within the Bible cover, the diversity or situations and scenarios that take place, the cultural changes then and now, and the way in which 'prooftexting' has been so prevalent, it's so easy to justify or vilify practically any idea or practice using the Bible. Someone gets an idea (either on their own or while reading the Bible), does research in the Bible, comes up with a list of passages that support their idea - ignoring all that is against it - and then starts teaching others on it. Before long, those teachings become accepted as 'Biblical' among certain groups of Christians, and anyone who questions it is a troublemaker who needs to 'get Jesus or get out'. Another group, reading the Bible with their own ideas and prized passages, sees the first group's teachings as unbiblical nonsense, and started demonizing them for twisting the Bible in such a way - even though they themselves have plenty of teachings that are of dubious Biblical nature themselves. Everyone sees their reading of the Bible as accurate, and everyone else's as twisted and wrong. (This goes for theology in general as well...) And God help anyone who is humble enough to realize that what they've been taught, whether from childhood or from the time they accepted Jesus, may not be completely Biblical in the sense that it really meshes with the essence and heart of God's intentions as revealed within our scriptures - especially if they start to voice their doubts and what they're learning in the Bible. The Bible has become one of the most divisive books in human history thanks to this phenomenon, which was never God's intent in the first place when inspiring its many writers to write, in their own voices, what's within. We all have a 'lens' through which we read and interpret the Bible, which is completely unavoidable, as we - according to Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:12 - see through the glass darkly, our view not completely clear nor perfect, and so it's very important to understand that not all of these lenses are the same, and absolutely none of them is completely perfect. It's these differences in lenses that often are the underlying sources of our conflicts, without even realizing it, and there are far too few followers of Jesus who show the love, humility, and patience to both realize this, and to work with others whose lenses are vastly different than their own. 
• In another post, I'll go into more detail about my own lenses when it comes to approaching the Bible. Not that I claim them to be 100% perfect, but I can't accept anything less than my best when I approach the Bible, so it's the most honest and clear effort I can manage. (I originally shared them as I wrote this post, but it was way too long, so I'm saving them for later.)
• Because diversity makes us uncomfortable. I'm not just talking about ethnic and racial diversity here - although here in America at least, churches are still largely voluntarily segregated, to the detriment of all of us (I have much respect for Catholics and others who are more diverse in this respect) - but the diversity of ideas, teachings, and ways in which we approach the Bible. Yes, I've covered a lot of this already, but I'm going to keep going there because it needs to be said. Because we're so used to the 'echo chamber' effect - especially now that we have the freedom only to hear what we want to hear online and on television - when we hear something that doesn't line up with what we're used to hearing, either from the pulpit, the television, or from our favorite blogs and Facebook pages, we get uncomfortable, which then tends to make us defensive. Even in the instances where we're mature enough not to show this defensiveness outwardly (including online), we still have that defensive mentality and automatically start seeing everything that individual or group says with suspicion, regardless of how right they may be. And I'm not just talking about people in general either - Christians are bad about doing this to each other too, which only fans the flames of enmity and division and makes things worse. We forget that iron can actually sharpen iron, that we need one another, that our differences in upbringing and what we've learned can actually be of benefit to one another. A Baptist can learn a lot about how the Holy Spirit can help us be the men and women we were always meant to be from a Pentecostal, and that same Pentecostal can learn a lot about staying true to the Bible and not getting tossed about by each and every wave and teaching that passes by. Even 'conservatives' and 'liberals' (I cringe at using such divisive and narrow terms) can learn from one another, even if they never completely, 100%, see eye-to-eye. Instead of fighting against each other and calling each other derogatory names and having nothing to do with one another, if we could humble ourselves enough to consider what our other brothers and sisters are saying - not just those who agree with us - God can really open our eyes and hearts to more of his nature and purposes than we ever realized within the small bit of the church that we have confined ourselves to. And we can - with great patience, kindness, and love - help open the eyes of other brothers and sisters as well. We just have to be willing to humble ourselves first and overcome our discomfort outside the echo chambers we've been so used to for far too long. 
• If you're inclined to dismiss me as some relativist at this point, and say that I'm completely off-base in what I'm saying, I ask you right now to honestly and openly check your own heart and ask God to help you see it more clearly in a mirror. Perhaps I'm a delusional kook who is trying to derail the church even more than it already is. If that's what I am, then I ask you to pray for me - or just pray for me no matter what, because I could certainly use it. Just make sure in your own heart, in God's revealing light, and with honest humility, that you are not suffering from a knee-jerk defensive reaction. I have no intention of derailing or even further dividing the church, and I pray that everyone who reads this is likewise encouraged to work towards greater love and unity (not uniformity) with one another as Jesus has called us to do.
• Because some our leaders are too ambitious. This one I don't like to talk too much about, because I don't want to come across as judging in the least, but I can't leave it untouched. There are leaders out there who care way too much about their own ambitions, their own career, their own legacy. God uses them, not because of their own rightness, but because God is so loving and merciful, that if someone is in need and seeking him, he will use whoever is available to reach them, even if that person is the most selfish, greedy, power-hungry, Bible-twisting Christian alive. (Mind you, this is not a personal judgement on anyone - and if you feel like it is, humbly seek God about it and ask him to reveal the truth of your heart. I'm just a messenger conveying a message.) Sometimes it's a matter of having an ego so big it doesn't fit on the billboards their face is on, sometimes it's a matter of seeing so much success in terms of numbers and results that the leader gets a sense of entitlement, sometimes it's even a matter of just saying all the right things that make people feel good and coming back for more. A lot of these leaders are good at drawing people in and getting them emotionally involved in what they have to say. Some use background music while they speak, or in some way are good at getting the masses stirred up. Some seek titles and recognition. Most end up striving to build their own empires at the expense of the kingdom of God. And when their empires are threatened, when their authority is questioned or they are called to account in anyway - especially by others who follow Jesus - they are quick to fight back, not worried about who gets hurt or what divisions are caused. They often tend to create churches and systems that make people dependent on every word that comes from their lips, making those learning from them feel as though without their regular guidance they would be lost and adrift on a daily basis. These types of leaders are another of the divisive forces in the church, and while they may have once been called to leadership, what they have become is anything but the example of a Christ-like leader, no matter how spiritual they seem, how their words make you feel, or how many lives have been touched by their work. Pray for them, pray hard for them, because they desperately need Jesus to lay bare to themselves what they have become and how far they've strayed from their purposes. If you are in a position to say something to a leader like this, pray about it first, and if God gives you the 'go ahead', approach them with love, kindness, and humility, taking the risk to reach out to them (instead of 'putting them in their place') with the understanding that they may not respond positively, even if you do and say everything right. These leaders, while misguided, are still a part of the church, our brothers and sisters, and they need gentle, loving, prophetic voices to get through to them in much the same way that Nathan did with David and Priscilla and Aquila did with Apollos. 

I know there are plenty of other reasons why the church continues to divide itself and neglect Jesus' teaching on loving one another, but these are some of the glaringly obvious ones that I felt needed to be covered. I feel like I've only scratched the surface, and a Part 3 is likely coming in the relatively near future (whether it's the next post or a future post remains to be seen), but this seems to be an appropriate stopping point for now.

Humbly and prayerfully consider these things, and ask God to help you search your own heart when it comes to ways in which you may unintentionally neglect to love others, especially other brothers and sisters in Jesus. I know I find I have to check myself frequently, because it's so easy to slip into old habits of judging others who don't see things the way I do and trying to distance myself from them. (In my case, if I didn't have anything to do with people who I didn't see eye-to-eye with all the time, I'd be the loneliest man in the world, because, as my wife well knows, I don't agree with ANYONE 100% of the time.) This is why love and humility are so important. For that matter, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control all are useful and necessary in this way.

That's why we need the Holy Spirit in our daily lives so badly... But more on that another day...