Abe Lincoln drew from it in 1858 when he said, “A house divided itself cannot stand.”
That is from Matthew 12:25-26 where Jesus, answering critics who said he had driven a demon out of a man by the power of Satan, replied, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste and no city or house divided against itself will stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?”
The Revs. Mario Martinez and Steve Moss say divisiveness is bad for churches, families and nations.
“If a church is divided and there is no common goal, you will not be able to accomplish anything for the kingdom of God,” the Rev. Martinez said. “If a family is taking a vacation and doesn’t know where to go, there’s going to be a mess.
“We should be doing what’s best for the country as a whole. We’re getting nowhere if we’re divided.”
In church and spiritual matters, Martinez said, the priority should always be to do what pleases God.
“You either please people or you please God, so you need to have a kingdom-minded goal,” he said. “The way to focus on God and please him is to obey what the Bible says.
“If you are a kingdom-minded family, you’re leaving your feelings aside and looking for what the Scripture says because it applies to everybody. You can’t base anything on feelings because feelings change every day.”
Martinez said churches, families and the nation may find unity in the kingdom-minded truth that Jesus Christ will return to judge mankind and separate the redeemed from the condemned.
“If we think we are close to that day, we might as well get ready because everything will be under his kingship,” he said. “Jesus is going to be the king one of these days and we should be united under him.”
The Rev. Moss, pastor of the First Methodist Church, said the various churches and denominations err when they dwell on their differences.
“We have so much in general that we argue and fight about in the church universal, but we have much more in common in our beliefs than we have differences,” Moss said. “We should come together and share the love of Jesus Christ because we’re living in a world right now that is so divided religiously and politically.
“We need to unite in our common beliefs, move forward and spread God’s love because Christ calls us to be his witnesses.
“So often we get caught up in our nuanced differences and forget that we love and serve a God who sent his son so that we might receive salvation for all those who repent and call on his name.
“We must move forward because it is important that we are not a house divided.”
Citing Matthew 12:33, Moss said, “Either make the tree good and its fruit good or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.
“We are called in Acts 1:8 to be witnesses and spread the seeds of hope, renewal and the new life that is available to all through Jesus Christ.”
