Regarding this next item, I’m not at all pleased. I am getting the picture that when you meet together it brings out your worst side instead of your best! First, I get this report on your divisiveness, competing with and criticizing each other. 1 Corinthians 11:17-19 The Message
It’s interesting to see the number of times that Paul has to bring correction to the early church. There were definitely some awesome things happening in the churches, but there was a lot of church discipline that was needed as well. The truth is, with any group of people there is going to be issues that need resolving.
Here, the issue raised is divisiveness, competing and criticizing one another. One of the devils greatest tactics is to divide and conquer, to make us turn on ourselves, and implode. If we are wasting all our ammunition on friendly fire, we have nothing left for our real enemy.
Our real mission is snatching souls from Hell. But we end up wasting so much time dealing with internal issues that we miss out on our real mission. It’s like the story of the shoe factory owner. He went away for 3 months and asked a manager to run the factory. After he came back, the manager had built a crèche for the kids, redecorated, built a cafe and made the place look great. But he’d hardly made any shoes. The owner was furious, because the purpose of the factory is to make shoes. And he’d missed the mark of what the real mission was. In our churches, the real mission is to make disciples. Let us not be distracted, let us not lose focus on the real mission.
Sometimes when I realise I am off track, or if I’m being divisive, competing or critical, the Holy Spirit convicts me, and gently leads me back on track. As the scripture says, “He leads us into all truth.”
Lord, forgive me for not following the real mission, may I always seek first your kingdom, and not my own. I pray for unity in our churches. In Jesus name, Amen.