Tag Archives: Divide and Conquer

Take Heed

Living in the Spirit

November 14, 2022

Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 23:1-6

Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the Lord. Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord. Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the Lord. –Jeremiah 23:1-4

Most of the dark money ads that took over our media leading up to the election were designed to destroy and scatter the members of our democracy. Some of them presented their viewpoints in the name of God without regard to the harm they do, not only to the wellbeing of people, but in turning people away from the God that is love by characterizing God as a supporter of bigotry, lust for power, and greed. Jeremiah’s scripture above addresses God’s response to such an attack on God’s people.

Jeremiah’s warnings related to Judah’s exile to Babylon. Isaiah, Hosea, and Amos also addressed the people getting caught up in the idols of their day. It is frightening to read these prophets of the Hebrew Bible warning people that their lack of attention to what was going on about them was a major factor in their downfall. We today need to listen to their wise counsel for the same evil is afoot in our land.

Prayer:

Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
forgive our foolish ways;
reclothe us in our rightful mind,
in purer lives thy service find,
in deeper reverence, praise.

In simple trust like theirs who heard
beside the Syrian sea
the gracious calling of the Lord,
let us, like them, without a word
rise up and follow thee*. Amen.

*The first and second verses of the hymn Dear Lord and Father of mankind by John Greenleaf Whitter see at https://hymnary.org/text/dear_lord_and_father_of_mankind

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Seeing

Living in the Spirit

October 24, 2021

Scripture Reading: Mark 10:46-52

They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Jesus stood still and said, ‘Call him here.’ And they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take heart; get up, he is calling you.’ So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ The blind man said to him, ‘My teacher, let me see again.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your faith has made you well.’ Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.

We all have collected life filters we carry that shape how we intake information into our being. I inherited my love of listening to the news from my Dad morning, noon, evening, and night. A few years ago, Dad’s local station of preference played a tribute segment on the late-night news when their long-time noon news anchor died. Just hearing this voice from my childhood made me hungry. I listened to his voice every day just before lunch. That connection that filter was still resident somewhere deep in my mind. Filters are neither good nor bad. However, they can wear out their usefulness, and they may lose their truthfulness. In those instances, we need to identify those that stagnate our faith, clear them out, and refresh our hearts and minds with filters drawn from our faith.

Our scripture today talks about the life filter of being physically blind. Still, I also think it speaks to the reality that we do not see the attitudes and practices harming our ability to love God and love our neighbors as we love ourselves. We are easily distracted by issues that divide us and fail to find ways to work toward the oneness Christ calls us to be. We must let the Spirit guide us out of cultural blindness and reclaim the loving ways set for us by God when he sent his Son, Jesus.

Prayer:

 Open my eyes that I may see
glimpses of truth thou hast for me.
Place in my hands the wonderful key
that shall unclasp and set me free.
Silently now I wait for thee,
ready, my God, thy will to see.
Open my eyes, illumine me,
Spirit divine*! Amen.

*First verse of the hymn Open My Eyes That I may See by Clara H. Scott. See at https://hymnary.org/text/open_my_eyes_that_i_may_see

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

The Cost of Division

Living in the Spirit

June 5, 2021

Scripture Reading: Mark 3:20-35

When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, ‘He has gone out of his mind.’ And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, ‘He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.’ And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, ‘How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered. –Mark 3:21-27

The fact that people will believe anything they see or hear with no verification but do not believe what they can see with their eyes is astonishing. There is a pandemic of thinking about what we choose to think and keeping our heads in the sand. We do not deal with the truth. Evil is working extremely hard in our land to divide and conquer us. Jesus’s own family tried to stop him from warning the people of their need to face what is real. I heard a member of Congress saying the crowd on January 6 was no different than regular visitors to the Capitol. I have visited the Capitol several times over many years, mostly seeing well-behaved tour groups and families. Small to large numbers of protestors were sometimes visible but orderly.

There is nothing innately good or bad about politics. It describes a way of interacting and decision-making. Politics is about power and is present in all business and governmental operations. In a democracy, politics require negotiation and compromise. Democracies no longer exist when these skills are dismissed. The issue at stake in the above scripture is not the politics of running a home or a government. Problems arise when the political is infiltrated by evil’s corruption, often based on greed and lust for power. Paul states it well in Ephesians 6:12:

For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

God is calling us to turn around and practice God’s mercy and justice. Unfortunately, we will pay heavy consequences if we continue down our current path.

Prayer: God of Justice, forgive us for turning away from you. Cleanse us with your love and place us in your righteous way. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Lacking both Punishment and Joy

Living in the Spirit

July 17, 2020

Scripture Reading: Psalm 86:11-17

Teach me your way, O Lord,
   that I may walk in your truth;
   give me an undivided heart to revere your name.
I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
   and I will glorify your name forever.
For great is your steadfast love towards me;
   you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol. –Psalm 86:11-13

We are a people in search of an undivided heart. We desperately need to find God’s way as our faith center and then build on it from the inside out as individuals and as communities of faith. I hate questioning the veracity of everything I take in from various media. I have even caught myself checking the fact checkers to see if they are saying the same thing. Divide and conquer is one of the oldest and most potent instruments used by evil to distract and create constant anxiety.

We do not talk much about hell anymore. Most conversations about heaven relate to comfort for the living at the death of a loved one. Even in that instance, I find myself saying words like, “She is in the loving care of God.” The writer of the above Psalm used the word Sheol in the first sense of its definition that follows:

the subterranean world of darkness that in early Hebrew thought resembled the Greek Hades in being an underworld abode where all spirits of the dead were assumed to live a shadowy existence involving neither punishment nor joy, was later conceived of as the intermediate realm of departed spirits where the wicked were punished and the good awaited resurrection to a blessed reward, and was still later conceived of as a place where the wicked were tortured and tormented*

We can create our own hell on earth. I fear that being in something like Sheol describes how many of us feel living in our pandemic-ruling world sheltering from a virus over which we have no control involving neither punishment nor joy. Following God’s way puts us back in sync with God. God can and will deliver us from the depths of Sheol. We will need to give up the gods of the world with which we have become so enamored and seek God’s righteousness and justice to make this happen.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for chasing after the gods of greed and power and selfishness. Turn us around and help us step into your light of love to find our way back to you. Amen.

*https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/Sheol

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Resist Divide and Conquer

Jesus’ Ministry
January 24, 2019

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. –1 Corinthians 12:12-13

Our logic is paradoxical regarding diversity and faith. We acknowledge that God created the earth and all that is in it including the wide diversity of people with differing skills and talents, various colors and sizes, gender and divergent sexual orientations, and even ecumenical and interfaith understandings of God. In the creation stories God looked at the final product and recognized it as good. Yet, we humans seem to have a need to categorize and separate, rank and judge by our own discernment what is good and what is not. Why do we suppose that is?

The next several verses of the above scripture (not included here) go into detail on how separating out and ranking various body parts is nonsensical. What would happen indeed if we were all eyes? The message of creation is that unless we work in oneness the world does not work well at all. Thus, the snake was added to the story to make this point even stronger and we are still mesmerized by the snake of greed and lust for power today.

God does not want puppets. God’s greatest desire is that we love God and each other by choice as God loves us. I trust we are fully equipped to do just that. What is stopping us? Why do we fall to the enticements of the divide and conquer temptations? More importantly how do we remove ourselves as individuals and groups from divide and conquer’s grasps?

God gives us the answer, I think, when we are instructed to love our neighbors as ourselves. When we feel whole, we lose the need for others to be less than we are. We long for all to be whole.

Prayer: Lord, make us whole make us one. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Times That Try our Souls

Living in the Spirit
July 27, 2018

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 3:14-21

Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. –Ephesians 3:20-21

While my life is nothing compared to what Paul and his fellow workers in the faith faced, I have experienced times that try souls as Thomas Paine described the folly of getting enough citizens to back the cause of the American Revolution.

I was a grade schooler when the cold war was raging overhearing the news on our first television while practicing drills in school to protect ourselves from the threat of atomic bombs. Little did we know that sitting under our desks covering the backs of our heads with our hands would have had no effect. I had nightmares of huge “Russians” whatever they were that looked amazingly like the Star Wars metal soldiers marching to get me. I wonder what nightmares we are inflicting on our children today?

By the last half of the 60’s, I was in college caught in cultural change as the Watts Riots tore at the heart of my concept of my homeland as did the war in Vietnam.

Working in public welfare after college gave me hope that we could open doors for the impoverished. That hope was drastically damaged by the passage of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 that curtailed services. One of the byproducts of this philosophical change was skyrocketing child abuse and neglect that have not been adequately addressed to this day.

What challenges me, all of us for that matter, today is that others see these same events in a totally different way than I perceive them. This has led to our living in a divide-and-conquer world.

Jesus’ followers were called to oneness. While it is easy at times to get discouraged in our quest for that oneness, we must not give up because it is the only way to the shalom, the wholeness, the peace that is the Kingdom of God, a world ruled by love. The writer of Ephesians reminds us of the source where our power for unleashing shalom derives.

Prayer: Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Journeying to Oneness

Living in the Spirit
June 25, 2018

Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27

After the death of Saul, when David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag. 

David intoned this lamentation over Saul and his son Jonathan. 

Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely!
   In life and in death they were not divided;
they were swifter than eagles,
   they were stronger than lions. –2 Samuel 1:1, 17, 23

We live in a divide and conquer world. Israel was in the midst of such a world as Saul and David battled for supremacy in leadership. It ended with the death of Saul and his son Jonathan, David’s best friend fighting an external foe, the Amalekites. That is what happens when great nations battle from without sapping their strength to the extent that when it faces an outside adversary the nation loses. In this instance, David went on to become a great king and Israel eventually knew peace during his rule and the rule of his son Solomon. Israel returned to divide and conquer following Solomon and eventually ended in exile.

There is wisdom in Christ call that we all become one. We will never attain that status until we give up divide and conquer fighting over who is right and who is wrong and thoughtfully work to find the ideas and issues on which we agree. If we place a moratorium on establishing who is right or who is wrong and work on Christ’s priorities of loving God and loving one another, we might surprise ourselves with what we can accomplish. If you read my devotions regularly, you may grow tired of me setting forth this same idea repeatedly. I promise I will stop when I begin to see the light of Christ shining through our feeble attempts at-oneness. For my experience with God is that when a few folks make a genuine attempt at loving all, the Spirit of God joins in the effort, and its impact expands greatly.

Pass It On
It only takes a spark
To get a fire going
And soon all those around
Can warm up in the glowing
That’s how it is with God’s love
Once you’ve experienced it
You’ll spread His love
To everyone
You’ll want to pass it on*

Prayer: God of Mercy and Justice, help me be a spark in your quest for the oneness of your followers. Amen.

*https://st-takla.org/Lyrics-Spiritual-Songs/English-Coptic-Hymns-Texts/7-Christian-n-Gospel-Lyrics-O-P-Q-R/Pass-It-On.html

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.