Divided We Fall

Jul 24

E pluribus unum. Out of many, one. This 13-letter motto for the United States appearing on our Great Seal was adopted by an Act of Congress in 1782. It was never made the official motto by law, so in 1956, Congress adopted “In God we trust” as the official motto. The Latin phrase, however, is still recognized as one of our mottos and is displayed on all coins in our nation.

The two phrases “out of many, one” and “in God we trust” are quite connected. You see, God hates division. And lately, He has been speaking to my heart about it over and over again.

We, as a nation, are in crisis. We have citizens declaring hatred for their own country. Some wanting to denounce their citizenship. There are states wanting to follow their own set of laws and talks of secession waft through the air.

Dividing lines abound. Lines between the Republicans and Democrats, blacks and whites, males and females, blue collar and white collar, liberals and conservatives, gays and straights. You name it, and we can find an opposing side to it.

And thanks to social media, you can share your opinion with the world with a few strokes and a click. Computer anonymity produces a boldness for people to share things they used to sit and soak on in the past. Instead of spending time thinking about a topic before deciding to share, we have a thought and are able to distribute the workings of our minds just as quick as our fingers can type it. Don’t believe me? Take the time to read the comments in the posts with hot topics.

The comments reveal how rude people can be from the safety of a seat behind their computer screen. Something about not seeing true hurt in people’s eyes has allowed bullying to grow at an alarming rate. People feel free to say things online they would never utter over a latte or in the grocery store line.

Even Christians are not exempt. There are some who feel so offended by the craziness in the world and emboldened by what the Word of God says, they stand firm – not realizing that in that firmness comes a stiff neck. Whatever happened to loving people the way Jesus did? It’s easy to forget that with Truth should come grace. Jesus didn’t argue over the politics of the day. As a matter of fact, when people tried to tempt him into a debate, we find Jesus was often silent. Imagine that. Silence.

There’s another group of people who are so full of grace, they have forgotten Truth. They are almost embarrassed to be called Christians. They are okay to bend what the Word of God says just a little. Their greatest anger is towards the “Stand firm” group. They have forgotten that we don’t pick and choose to whom we show grace. It’s for everyone – even their stiff necked brothers and sisters.

Division. It’s in the church.

Division. It’s in our homes between husbands and wives.

Division. It’s in our relationships with friends.

Divided, we fall.

United, we stand. Nope that’s not from the Continental Congress; that’s straight out of God’s Word. It’s why I said our mottos are connected. Out of many, one. In other words, we must be united. That connects to “in God we trust,” because the original idea for unity comes from God.

Jesus Himself said in the gospel of Mark, “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” (Mark 3:24-25 NIV)

So God keeps whispering to me, “Remember to remain united.” Because, y’all, we have fallen into Satan’s trap. Division is one of his best tricks. He stirs the pot in so many areas so we will get our hackles up and be angry with one another. He is dividing our churches, our families, and our brothers and sisters in Christ.

You do the math. If you divide anything, you come up with less. That’s the way it is. Satan will continue to divide us until we cannot stand. Unless we put a stop to it. Unless we choose to overlook faults. Unless we choose to forgive. Unless we put first things first and make our main focus the gospel of Jesus Christ. Satan will divide the church and its people again and again until we are all left standing alone; and then he will attack.

Non-Christians are just standing back and watching the show; and they are saying to themselves, “I’m glad I’m not one of them.” While this is going on, people are dying. According to the current death rate, 6,316 people die every hour. Imagine people lying on a conveyor belt that moves towards a pit of death. They are dropping into the pit at the rate of 105 people a minute. I bet less than half of those know Christ. Shouldn’t we be doing something about it?

While we are debating the morality of legal immigration and whether or not “Reckless Love” is theologically sound, people are dying and going to hell. Forgive the bluntness of the statement but it’s time we stopped beating around the bush.

Perhaps we can’t control the political climate. We can’t decide whether or not Texas will form its own union. But we can stand united as brothers and sisters in Christ for the sake of the gospel. We can stop getting caught up in the fray.

Does that mean we can’t have an opinion on matters close to our hearts? Absolutely not! Does it mean we can’t involve ourselves to help in such matters? No, again. You can help out wherever the Lord moves you to do so. But it does mean you need to check your motives about what you comment and share on social media. It means you need to remember we have ONE PURPOSE on this earth. Just one – to bring God glory.

That one purpose unites us all. I don’t care if you are Catholic, Pentecostal or Baptist. It doesn’t matter who you voted for in the last election. The color of your skin, your hair, or the number of tattoos on your body doesn’t really make a hill of beans to me. I just want you to know my Jesus. I want to love people in Jesus name, and I want to make his name great.

Are you with me?

Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise you, Lord my God with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. Psalm 86:11-12 NIV

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