Divide and...?

Thursday, April 14, 2011
Divide and…? There’s an age old military strategy that we see used around us all the time. It’s called “Divide and Conquer.” The theory is that if you can divide an opposing force, not allowing them to fight united together as one, you can decimate them much easier. If you’re fighting an army of 10,000 and can divide them into 2 groups of 5,000, you have decreased their strength by more than half. The simple fact that they are divided alone decreases their might substantially. A successful enemy knows this.
However, it’s the failing force that doesn’t recognize the true risk of being divided. In order for division to come, a force would have to allow the enemy to get the upper hand. They would have to somehow allow the enemy to position themselves into a place where division would be possible. They might even maneuver a spy, a mole, into their ranks so division would come internally. Then success in defeating them would be all but certain.
Christianity in our modern age has a mole in the camp. Almost every day we hear of another church that has split down the middle over issues so insignificant they almost seem silly when discussed. And those splits seem to always come when that church is at the pinnacle of a mountaintop. The enemy of our souls knows exactly when to pounce, and he’s gotten pretty good at it down through the ages.
It’s when we take our eyes off the One we are supposed to be focused on that the enemy has a foothold. When our eyes wander off the Savior (the “prize” Paul spoke of), they begin to zero in on our fellow believers. The more our focus is on our fellow believers, the more imperfections we begin to see. The more imperfections we begin to see, the more we forget about our own. The more we forget about our own, the brighter red the target becomes that is on that fellow believer’s back. You know the rest, right?
So today, can we remember that our time is short? Jesus told His earliest followers that He had to “work the works of Him who sent Him while it was day, because the night was coming when no man could work.” The sun of our world is sinking fast. Things are winding down at a faster pace than ever before. The moment is coming when Christians will no longer be able to win the lost because we will be gone.
When we allow the devil to divide us against each other, we are throwing up our hands and allowing Him to conquer us. And when we allow Him to conquer us, we are jeopardizing the eternity of the lost around us, who are looking to us for hope and the message of salvation. Souls are hanging in the balance – is the issue that has divided you from your brother really worth it? If the answer is no, and I sure hope it is, would you make it right today?
The future is bright – let’s not let the enemy sidetrack us as we live our lives for Him. The world is full of conflict and wars. So church of America – let’s not let conflict and wars define us too.



That’s just a thought, and I welcome yours.
Until next time,
blake

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