When I was a child, I actually quite enjoyed maths, until I had to learn how to do long division! It always seemed so pointless to take up half a page writing out a problem which could be solved by using far less paper and time! Division is often necessary when dealing with numbers, but not among Christians.
In 1 Corinthians 12, verses 12-27, it says:
“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honourable we treat with special honour. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honour to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”
If I were with a group of people, and we were to discuss whether we preferred spring or autumn, mornings or evenings, or even tea or coffee, there could be some very lively and entertaining debates, but in the end, we would just accept that other people had differing views to our own. I love early spring mornings listening to the birds singing enthusiastically, while I sit on my garden swing drinking either tea or coffee, depending on what choice I’ve made that morning, but I know several people who would much rather still be curled up in bed.
Does that make me right and them wrong? Of course not. It’s personal choice and although we may joke about someone who doesn’t like early mornings, or someone like me, who can’t seem to stay awake very late at night, we tend to just accept the opinions of others and respect their choices. I don’t make it my mission to try to convince everyone that mornings are the best part of the day!
I have to confess, I put off writing about division for as long as I could, just as I used to put off doing my long division homework when I was in school, but it’s something which has been on my mind for some time.
We know that biblically some things are wrong. God detests certain behaviours, but he still loves the people, at the same time as disliking what they are doing. He always gives ways out to those who are behaving in ways which displease him, as he wants them to turn towards him. Sometimes in those situations, we may have to lovingly disagree with what someone is doing. No one is going to change their behaviour if we come down hard on them and forcefully tell them all the reasons why they are wrong.
However, there are many things for which we are not given specific instructions in the Bible. Division is the most powerful weapon of the enemy, Satan. If he can get us disagreeing with one another, then our focus is not on God.
We only have to look at denominations within the church. So many countries, towns, villages, and even congregations have been divided over what they believe a certain denomination should or shouldn’t be doing, and also by the idea that one denomination is better and more “godly” than another. Many of the differences between the denominations are down to personal preference, such as how worship and music are done. Some churches love the traditional organ, while others enjoy more modern music played on guitars, pianos, and even drums! Another cause for division can be due to how formal and structured the service is. Some people prefer a more formal service, while others are happy when there is very little structure and the whole service is Spirit-led. Then there is the matter of Communion wine. Is the church allowed to use real wine, or should they only use non-alcoholic wine?
As Christians We are all part of one church. There is nothing wrong with some churches singing bouncy music, while others choose traditional hymns. The problem is our judgement of those who choose to worship God differently than how we do.
Back in January, I had a sort of physical reminder about how much division among Christians, and the body of Christ being pulled in multiple directions, is not only displeasing to God, but must hurt him deeply. I was getting out of the shower one morning, when I somehow caught my little toe on the ledge where the door slides along, separating that toe from the others. I managed to stop myself falling headfirst onto the floor, but knew I’d really hurt my foot. In fact, I’d hurt three toes, as the action of catching just the little toe had stretched them apart and caused my foot and the toe joints to twist.
Four months later, my foot still isn’t quite right. How can something as small as a little toe cause so much trouble? I was walking a bit strangely for some time, I lost the nail from my middle toe, and my foot still swells, preventing me from wearing certain shoes, all because of one seemingly insignificant little toe.
If catching my little toe can hurt me so much, how much more does division among Christians hurt God? In the last couple of years there seems to have been so much division among the body of Christ. The decision over whether or not to be vaccinated against Covid 19 has caused a great deal of upset on both sides of the argument. Everyone has their own reason why they make the choice whether or not to be vaccinated, and I don’t believe anyone makes a decision with the intention of harming others.
I started to think about what influences any decision we make, and I believe the three main factors are Experience, fact, or fear.
No one had any previous experience of Covid 19, so it was down to fact, and fear.
If I were to ask the question, is chocolate good for you? I would find some who said yes, and others who would say no it isn’t. I once read an article saying how dark chocolate is good for your heart, but I’ve also read articles about how too much sugar is bad for you. I know from experience that I like chocolate, but I may not want to eat too much of it, as it would not be very healthy.
We live in a country where we have freedom of choice, for which I’m extremely thankful, however, I’ve heard many unkind words spoken during the pandemic, both by those who have been vaccinated, judging those who haven’t as selfish, and by those who haven’t been vaccinated, judging those who have as stupid. Obviously not everyone has that kind of a judgemental attitude, but we all have to make our own decisions based on the evidence we’ve gathered, and more than that, how we feel The Lord is leading us.
It’s so easy for Satan to turn us against one another and breed anger and hate. It’s happening all the time, but the question of vaccinations really seems to have increased this among Christians. It’s so easy for anger and a strong opinion to grow into hatred. We only have to look back at how the Jewish people and many others were treated during World War II to see that anger and a feeling of superiority can be so damaging.
It’s so easy to be drawn in. We can be influenced without even realising what’s happening. It’s easy to just go along with the ideas of those we know. Now, more than ever before, the media has a strong influence on how our opinions are formed. Media is a very powerful tool, often in a good way, but sometimes in a destructive way. It can be based on fact, but also opinion. It’s easy to follow someone who sounds convincing.
We only have to look at the last part of the life of Jesus to see how easily people can be influenced and go along with the crowd. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem, the crowds were waving palm branches and shouting “Hosanna”, then just a few days later, the crowds were shouting “crucify him”. I wonder how many of those people were part of both crowds.
I once heard a conversation between two people where the first asked the second what they thought of the latest episode of a TV Soap. The second person stated that she thought the story line was a load of rubbish and the first agreed. The second person left and a third came along. The first person asked her the same question. This person actually felt that the story line was really relevant and had been well acted. To my surprise, the first person agreed with her. Only minutes before, she’d been agreeing with someone who had a completely different view. Unfortunately, there will always be those who agree with whoever they are with at the time or say what they think you want to hear.
It’s good to listen to the thoughts and opinions of others, but our focus really needs to be on God and what he is saying to each of us. God created us as individuals, so naturally we will have differing thoughts and opinions, but it’s what we do with them that matters.
We will not always agree with everyone, and in some instances, we may have to lovingly correct someone. But more often than not, we have to accept the opinions of others, and respect our differences. There may be times when we can advise, but it’s not our place to judge.