Division

So it’s about 70° outside, a soft cloud cover in the sky, the “people's open” is teeing off in Scottsdale, and the old East is taking on the new West in a Super Bowl on Sunday. Let the division begin.
 
I am a West Coast kid, no doubt. I have lived in Arizona, California, and Oregon. If I spend some time living in Washington I will have the entire West Coast covered. I have been to the East Coast a few different times and—blah, blah, blah—West is best. Go Rams.Let the division begin.
 
Our human nature loves to pick a side and create “the other.” Some divisions are funny, like my "West is best" comment; because we know we are all Americans, we just inhabit different sides of the same plot of land. 

Some creations of “the other” are beneficial, like when two or more teams try to achieve the same goal. The motivation to get it done before “the other,” or to get it done better than “the other,” can be helpful and powerful. 

SO, WHEN DOES DIVISION BECOME A BAD THING?

As long as what unites us is stronger than what divides us, division can stay in the helpful and powerful arena. The minute what divides us becomes stronger or more important to us than what unites us, the loss and damage begin. 
 
I am happy that, today in America, we can still have fun divisions about some things; but I am grieved by the loss and damage that we are experiencing in some very significant areas—areas like solutions for important and challenging issues. If we can put away our differences, find what unites us, and work together, I think we could come up with creative solutions—the kind of solutions where everyone walks away from the table feeling content. 
 
In sports, there must be winners and losers. In life and challenges, government and business, I think opposing parties should walk away feeling that they got some good things and gave up some good things. After all, we know it feels good to get things, but Jesus said it is more blessed to give than to receive. 
 
The Scriptures also teach us we need to watch out for people who try to “…smuggle in destructive divisions, pitting you against each other—biting the hand of the One who gave them a chance to have their lives back! They’ve put themselves on a fast, downhill slide to destruction, but not before they recruit a crowd of mixed-up followers who can’t tell right from wrong.”
 
Lord, please help us, our government, and our leaders to resist division and fight for unity,
 
David