(The following is the February 13 devotional from my Next Step Devotions book. Before reading it, I suggest you read Mark 3 and pay close attention to verses 22-30.)

When religious leaders claimed that Jesus cast out demons by the power of the ruler of demons, he pointed out their illogical reasoning: “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand but is finished” (vv. 23-26).

We see the wisdom of Jesus’ comments in everyday life. Imagine a corporation where members of the board of directors disagree about the company’s mission, goals, and plans. How effective will a sports team be if players compete against each other rather than the opposing team? How successful will a team’s coaching staff be if they disagree on how to play the game? A home where parents constantly fight each other and no one cares about anyone’s needs but their own will suffer from chaos and disharmony.

The same is true for a church. Satan enjoys seeing church members fight each other. A divided church is a beautiful thing in Satan’s eyes. Church division frequently wastes time, energy, and resources on matters of minor importance. The more time we spend bickering internally, the less time we give to fulfilling our Christ-given mandate of making disciples of all nations. This harm done by division is why Paul often emphasized Christian unity in his writings.

Church families must unite in Christ to accomplish our mutual purposes of glorifying him and witnessing to a lost world. If we lose sight of that and allow division in the body, we lose our way, and the unreached lose the opportunity to know a glorious Savior.

Next Step:
Are you aware of gossip, rumors, or open conflict among members of your church? In addition to prayer, what actions can you take to heal such divisions and refocus yourself and others on fulfilling the church’s primary mission?