“And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” (Mark 3:25, KJV 1900)
Before getting back to the book of Romans, I want to deal with a couple more issues of our society today and the precarious position I see ourselves in. I also want to look at how the church should respond.
The events over the past several weeks and the corresponding media rhetoric has highlighted a serious and looming problem. It is one of division in our country. I have never in my lifetime seen such division. And, you may disagree, but the rhetoric coming from the politicians, the media and social media is not improving things, but making matters worse.
Today, our country is in what I would call “The Cold Civil War.” We seem to be divided into two distinct camps about 50/50. In my lifetime, we have had a two-party system in government, Republican and Democrat. Even though the parties differed in governing philosophies, there always seemed to be civility and a joint focus on the good for America. Somewhere in the last 50 years, things have gradually changed, and it is not good for our country.
In the gospels, we see a time when the Jewish religious leaders accused Jesus of casting out demons by the prince of demons. To this, Jesus presents a universal principle, a house divided against itself cannot stand.
Our nation was on the verge of collapse during the Civil War that raged between 1861 and 1865. This was the bloodiest war in our nation’s history. In this war, there were 1.7 million killed or wounded. We were a house divided against itself.
I do fear for our country today for I feel we are a house divided against itself. What shall we do about it? Let me give believers some ideas.
First, pray for unity, harmony and that the inflaming rhetoric would cease.
Second, pray for revival in our churches. It has been said, “As goes the church, so goes the world.” Is the church somewhat to blame in this? I’ll let you answer that. (I’ll deal more about the church in revival tomorrow.)
Third, as I discussed earlier in Romans, “if possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceable with all.” Stop adding fuel to the fire with your own rhetoric. If the posts your friends are putting up on Facebook and others cause your blood to boil, let it go. If you cannot let it go do not read their posts.
I am not sure that we can stop the inevitable result of division in our country. The only way is to have unity reestablished. The only way I can see this happening is if we return to God as a nation. For only in Him will we find truth and a unifying standard. We need revival to sweep across our land again.
Renewing the Heart 