You should not be surprised to hear that in over three decades of ordained ministry, I have seen my fair share of divisions within the Body—in the congregations I have served and elsewhere.

Neither should you be shocked to learn that I must shoulder or at least share the burden of responsibility for some of these divisions.

While it is true that some divisions were theological in origin, sadly, many of them came about because of personal preferences, prejudices, positions and opinions—even when they could be justified by an appeal to Scripture, conscience, personal communication from God, church history, …………(please fill in the blanks), etc.

You may be startled to learn that, almost without exception, the Bible comes down very hard on those responsible for causing division.

The list of seven things that are an abomination to the Lord in Proverbs 6 includes “one who sows discord among brethren” (v. 19).

The apostle Paul issues this warning: I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites (Romans 16:17-18).

That is pretty harsh, isn’t it? “Not serving our Lord, but our own appetites.”I don’t know about you, but I have to admit that satisfying my appetites for a certain kind of doctrine, practice, music, style, form, etc. has at times taken precedence and caused division.

Scripture is also unequivocal in attributing the origin of divisions to the flesh (carne).

For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal? (I Corinthians 3:3-4)

Let me be the first to admit that whenever I was responsible for causing division, I was too caught up in myself—my pain, my predisposition, my pet belief to even consider whether or not it would be divisive.

Since I was able to justify it in my mind, usually with an appeal to a Scripture passage, I saw no problem in ploughing right through like a bulldozer. It was only when I saw the carnage that resulted from my carnal behaviour that I realized what I had done.

Here comes the most serious indictment of them all: These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and DO NOT HAVE THE SPIRIT (Jude 19).

Where Holy Spirit is present and allowed full reign, unity should be the order of the day, not division. I shudder to consider the possibility that when I sowed seeds of division, I was not totally yielded to the Holy Spirit, but had inadvertently allowed an evil spirit to wield its influence through me.

If nothing else sways you, that scary thought should give cause to pause before you say or do something that could be potentially divisive, amen?

So, dear friend, on Day 18 of the Fast, would you examine your heart? Ask Holy Spirit to show you where you may have allowed your carnal appetites and behaviour to cause division within the Body of Christ. Repent and make at.one.ment with the Lord.

Where you have been adversely affected by the carnal appetites and behaviour of others within the Church, would you simply forgive them and move on?

Finally, would you pray in unity with all of us who are on this Fast that the Church of Jesus Christ would be vigilant about the origin of divisions and nip them in the bud before they lead to disaster?

Let’s do our part to honour Jesus’ desire for At.One.Ment within the Body, shall we?