After a long day of ministry, I was looking forward to kicking back and watching the GOP debate on CNBC. Given the liberal tendencies of the mainstream media, I was expecting the moderators to take somewhat of an adversarial stance toward the Republican candidates.
The moderators exceeded my expectations. Rather than focus on the critical issues facing our nation, they chose instead to incite conflict among the Republican candidates.
At first, their ploy seemed to be working. The GOP debaters threw a few jabs at one another. But then, at an opportune moment, Senator Ted Cruz pummeled the moderators with a series of verbal blows that sent them reeling.
The senator's rebukes were both justified and effective. The audience cheered. The moderators were were left shamed and defenseless. The candidates pulled together as a team and spoke to the issues facing our nation at this critical time. Even where they disagreed, they displayed unity as they championed the same essential values and principles that brought them together in the first place.
As I watched this play out on television, I saw this as a good lesson for the church. Too often trouble-makers are allowed to create division in the body of Christ. They sow discord among the brethren, thereby weakening the unity of the church and crippling its witness to the world. The Great Commission gets replaced with great conflict and confusion. This is a telltale sign that the enemy is at work.
What the church needs are Christians who take a Cruz-like stance against the trouble-makers who pit God's people against each other and undermine the unity and mission of the church. Indeed, this is precisely what the Lord tells us to do:
2 Timothy 2:23-24: “Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.”
2 Timothy 2:14: “Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words. It is of no value and only ruins those who listen.”
Titus 3:10: “As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.”
Proverbs 6:12-15: "A worthless person, a wicked man, goes about with crooked speech, winks with his eyes, signals with his feet, points with his finger, with perverted heart devises evil, continually sowing discord; therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly; in a moment he will be broken beyond healing."The Bible tells us all these things "so that we may not be taken advantage of by Satan. For we are not ignorant of his schemes" (2 Cor. 2:11). Christians in general, and pastors in particular, are called by God to promote the unity of the church and to protect it from Satan’s greatest weapon – disunity. It's not an easy task, but with the Holy Spirit's help, we'll be up for the challenge.