Division (GALORE!)

It used to be Republicans vs. Democrats (though not nearly  to the extent, with the toxic venom, as today).

Then it was “establishment/moderate” Republicans vs. “MAGA”/”America first”/conservative Republicans. (As demonstrated most obviously and recently in the GOP House’s drawn-out, beat-down battle to select a Speaker this session… TWICE!) (And counting?)

Now it’s the “trying to topple Trump” trio Ron DeSantis vs. Nikki Haley vs. Chris Christie.

The ONLY way they can achieve their goal of getting the Republican nomination for President in next year’s election is to make sure the far-and-away polling leader for many months now, Donald Trump, doesn’t. Yet they WON’T UNITE.

Not even after the latest timely tidbit: ”A new Saint Anselm College poll of New Hampshire likely voters finds Trump at 44%, Haley at 30%, Christie at 12%, DeSantis at 6%” – I’m not saying or even suggesting what any or all of them should or shouldn’t do; what I am saying is that the three of them constantly claim and proclaim that “if Trump wins, democracy itself will come to a screeching halt” (or something similar along those lines, true or untrue as that may be) … yet they WON’T UNITE.

Mind you, we’re not talking about over two hundred  political people here as was the case with last month’s (second) Speaker of the House hunt; no, there are just the final few of them yet, even then, they WON’T UNITE.

And barring the imprisonment or unexpected death of “despised, despicable Donald”, that’ll be one reason their fate is self-sealed for failure and loss in their deep, dire endeavor.

Democrats, too.

First, for a dozen decades or more, it was Democrats vs. Republicans.

Then it was “Hillary Clinton” Democrats vs. “Barack Obama” Democrats.

Now it’s “establishment/moderate/Israel-supporting” Democrats vs. “progressive/liberal/Palestine (and sometimes Hamas)-supporting” Democrats.

And black vs. white.

And rich vs. poor.

And male vs. female. (Literally! In seemingly every sport anymore.)

Did you know that the Bible predicted this accelerating mass/ubiquitous breakdown of unity thousands of years  ago, and that such would not stop at the national or political or societal level but extend even all the way to the “flesh-and-blood” family level and even all the way to the point of death?

“And brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.” (Matthew 10:21)

But, as usual, the Bible goes even further… it doesn’t just tell us what is going to happen, it also tells us why.

It’s because there are two types of people on the planet at any given time: believers and unbelievers.

Redeemed and unredeemed.

Spiritually “alive” (Colossians 2:12-14; Romans 6:4-5; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:4-10) and spiritually “dead” (Ephesians 2:1-3).

Good (entirely due to the Holy Spirit within and in spite of  us ourselves, i.e., our selves) and evil.

And the Bible proceeds to say that these two groups have nothing (major, functionally, perspectivally) in common…

“… what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial [a.k.a. Satan, Lucifer, the Devil], or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?” (2 Corinthians 6:14b-15)

… and therefore will not “mesh” – certainly in the long run and often in the short run, either. Why? Two verses tell the tale entirely:

“But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day.” (Proverbs 4:18)
“But evil men and imposters will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” (2 Timothy 3:13)

Which is why the Bible proceeds even further  to a crystal clear conclusion/command/application for each and every group of people – from families to sports teams to companies to countries to, yep, political parties:

“… stand firm in ONE spirit, with ONE mind striving TOGETHER … being of the SAME mind, maintaining the SAME love, UNITED in spirit, intent on ONE purpose.” (Philippians 1:27 & 2:2, emphasis added)
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers [or teammates, or co-workers, or congregation members, or countrymen] to dwell together in UNITY!” (Psalm 133:1, emphasis added)

Because as someone infinitely greater than even Abraham Lincoln famously and truly stated, a house or city or kingdom (or country or company or congregation or family or friendship or political party) disunited, “divided against itself”, “WILL NOT” stand because such “CANNOT” stand! It’s literally impossible for any group of people to survive  (much less succeed and thrive) if they DON’T UNITE!

“Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself shall not stand.” (Matthew 12:25b)
“And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.” (Mark 3:25)

Wonderful words of wisdom and warning and reward from the blessing-bubbling Bible to each and every person on the planet. (Wonderful, and timely!) May we not just read them but heed them. (As I often say… when it comes to the Bible’s words, we can “read ’em and weep” OR “heed ’em and LEAP!” For joy. Unlimited, immeasurable, indescribable joy.)

“Heed how?“  you might be wondering… I’ll cover that in the next post but for now, here are two on-point songs I think you’ll enjoy.

America, families, and especially the Church: Let’s get right. Let’s UNITE!