Bible Passage: “Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A town or family splintered by feuding will fall apart. And if Satan is casting out Satan, he is divided and fighting against himself. His own kingdom will not survive.” (Matthew 12:25 NLT)
Scripture Reading: Proverbs 13:10; Matthew 12:22-26; John 13:33-35; Ephesians 4:1-6
Spending time on social media these days can make it feel far less social and far more like strife.
What was meant to be a place of connection has often become more like a UFC ring.
Some of the craziest (and hilarious) Internet debates include:
- The blue/black vs. white/gold dress that divided the world.
- The “Yanny vs. Laurel” auditory illusion that drove people wild.
- The correct pronunciation of the three-letter term “GIF” that has fueled one of the longest-running digital wars.
If all online fighting were this lighthearted, it wouldn’t be so bad.
But we see intense fights over politics, theology, entertainment, sports, climate, the economy…you name it, we fight over it.
And the Church is not immune. Sadly, it often perpetuates the same animosity while the world watches.
Often, the tone and type of the fighting make it even more egregious for Christians. Name-calling, cursing, labeling others as heretics, demonizing, and canceling anyone who thinks differently than we do.
Solomon offered some great analogies for quarreling:
- It’s like a dam breaking (Proverbs 17:14).
- It’s like a snare (Proverbs 18:6-7).
- It’s like a barred gate (Proverbs 18:19).
- It’s like grabbing a stray dog by the ears (Proverbs 26:17).
- It’s like kindling to fire (Proverbs 26:21).
- It’s like twisting the nose and producing blood (Proverbs 30:33).
Ouch.
In Matthew 12, Jesus faced an angry mob that tried to cancel Him after He healed a demon-possessed man. The Pharisees accused Jesus of being in cahoots with evil to do so, but Jesus exposed their illogic.
A divided kingdom, whether evil or good, cannot succeed.
Divisions, performative outrage, or polarization—whether by misrepresenting God’s work or by unjustly accusing others simply because we don’t agree with them—is a recipe for disaster.
True power and unity come from modeling our lives after the perfect unity of our Triune God.
Surrendering to His lordship calls men to love, grace, and mutual flourishing. In place of polarization and partisanship, Jesus offers unity, and our unity points people to Him.
A divided Church is an oxymoron because, by its nature, there is only one body, one Church, and one Spirit (Ephesians 4:4).
A divided Church turns away the very people it is meant to serve. A unified Church is one of the strongest apologetics for the Gospel, as according to Jesus, this loving unity is proof of our discipleship to a watching world (John 13:35).
Prayer: Jesus, I surrender to Your Lordship today and commit to being a builder of unity and a conduit of grace, both online and offline, so the world will know who You truly are. Amen.
Reflection: Conduct an audit of your online interactions from the past week. Have you demonstrated grace, kindness, and encouragement—or something less helpful? Is there anyone you need to apologize to or seek forgiveness from?
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