Week 14 of 2025
Another area in which we open the door for hurting our relationships and for Satan to get a foothold is in the “us and them” mentality. Regardless of culture, gender, financial status, and the like, division causes us to see others as rivals, or even enemies, which will in turn cause conflict and pain. Even within the Christian faith, there are divisions. There are many beliefs, such as Calvinism, Arminianism, and Reformism; Lutheranism, Baptist beliefs, and Roman Catholicism; and conservativism and liberalism, that we use to point out differences and show how others are wrong. With Satan’s influence, we allow ourselves the idea that if someone else believes differently than we do, he or she cannot be a part of “us”; Satan uses the lie that we must be on one side or the other to divide God’s people and create doubt in our hearts. Remember: his goal is to steal, kill, and destroy. He has been using this tactic from the beginning. “‘Master,’ said John, ‘we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.’ ‘Do not stop him,’ Jesus said, ‘for whoever is not against you is for you’” (Luke 9:49–50 NIV). We cannot create our own understanding of right or wrong. By doing so, we try to put God in our box and expect Him to perform in the way we would like. We need to accept the fact that even though we must hold to the truth of the Good News, God knows there are many ways to share that message, depending on an individual’s needs. If we allow God to be God, the walls of division will come down, and relationships will be built. If we live in the grace and mercy that God shows us, we will be incredibly surprised and pleased with the outcome of situations that would otherwise seem hopeless.
What would it take for us to continue to humble ourselves, let God be God, and live in the grace and mercy that God offers us?
