Division


 

As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work- which is by faith. The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Some have departed from these and turned to meaningless talk. 1 Timothy 1:3-6

It would appear that our world is going mad. It’s not unexpected, Jesus warned us to expect things like this, family members on opposite sides (Matthew 10:34-39), people telling us what we want to hear (2 Timothy 4:3) instead of the Truth, to name a couple of examples. It should not surprise us that things will get worse before they get better. I’m not surprised but I am saddened.

          Just the other day my sweet friend Donna put a message on social media asking that people share pictures, stories and family news, things that would makes us all smile. She asked that maybe we take the focus off the evil in the world. Great advice! I loved it and applauded Donna for saying it. Some people disagreed. One of our dear friends disagreed rather forcefully. He was not mean or nasty, just impassioned. That led to other comments pro and con. See what happened? Donna tried to do a good thing and ended up with a bit of exactly what she didn’t want.

          Division. It’s one of the enemy’s favorite tools. In the exchanges there was marked disagreement. I’m happy to say that those disagreements stayed civil, for now. These people are on the same side of the big picture. They just have differing ideas about how to promote what they believe. While they stayed civil and kind that is rarely the case. I agree with Donna, there is far too much blaming and name calling going on, in the news and on social media.

          When I read the verses from 1 Timothy, they brought to mind Donna’s efforts to focus people in a more positive direction. Never did she say ignore what’s happening around us. What she said was basically, shine your light. Reading the words, “controversial speculations” and “meaningless talk” I thought, that is what Donna is combating. No good comes from finger pointing or belittling.

          When we engage in such behavior we’re focusing on the wrong part of the story. Is it awful in our world right now? Yes! Why fan those flames? Why not instead, share the triumphs, as Donna suggested. Show that God is indeed still God.  Jesus is coming back for us and while we wait it would be best to follow His command to love one another.

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