Division

Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste,

And no city or house divided against itself will stand.

-Jesus of Nazareth, Matthew 12: 25

This is not about political divisions, or religious schisms, or even a family argument, this is about the fundamental truth that is illustrated here:

As another comic strip sage said, "We have met the enemy, and he is us."

I have seen what division does to communities, and thus I am more honestly worried about our nation right now than I ever have been.  It's not just Trump, it's not just Republicans that are causing this, it is a fundamental spiritual condition that afflicts us, our politics is just a symptom of a greater illness.

It bears note that Jesus said the thing above in response to people (the ever-present naysayers and keepers of the status quo) who thought that his ability to cast out demons was a product of him actually being somehow in league with Beelzebul, the ruler of demons.  Because they did not understand why or how Jesus was doing these things, their assumption was that it must be diabolical.  They had a hard time believing that he had this power because he was actually acting for God.  They also had the distinct impression that he was not on their side, and since "their side" was obviously the side of righteousness, he had to be something other, and that other goes by many names.  That other is shaped by the darkest terrors our hearts and minds can dream.

The thing is they were so blinded by the fact that Jesus would not color inside their lines and play by their rules that they took a stand against him. In taking that stand, for what they thought must be good reasons, they were standing against God, rather than against Satan.  It bears notice that the people that Jesus (and John the Baptist before him) were most critical of were the religious leaders and powerful people, the more powerful and wealthy you were the less likely you were to actually get what Jesus was saying. Those with the most to lose were the ones who would rather have blood on their hands than let him keep doing what he was doing.

In that comic strip above, you might say that it is the tiger Hobbes who is playing the role of the Devil, he gets that impish grin and then frostily disenchants Calvin of his illusions of invulnerability.  From a biblical standpoint though, and certainly from a Christian perspective it is Calvin who is the voice of the Satan.  The imperious six year old, spouting violence and control and daring anyone to challenge his reign of terror. The tiger is a prophet (Lord, I sure do miss Calvin and Hobbes), making the tiny tyrant aware of his own vulnerability and impermanence.

Do you want to know how to judge right from wrong, or perhaps more importantly the way of Christ from the way of the world?  Look for the opposite of power and control, look for the way that leads to kindness and compassion, rather than strength. Look for the way that puts you in God's hands rather than trying to put God in your hands. 

The way of the world always leads to division between groups that inevitably think they are right, they build power, they wrestle for control, they shout at one another, and the world burns and the demons play in the shadows.

But, by the grace of God, we do have an alternative.