A House Divided

And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: Math 12:25

Some day in the future, violent civil war will come to America, and that day may be closer than you think.  We are truly a kingdom divided. We cannot continue like this. We will be brought to desolation. The seeds are sown. It’s only a matter of time before we reap the harvest.

What is it that divides us? In a word it is religion. I don’t mean Christianity because there is precious little of that evident in this country. What I mean is religion, mans attempt to appear righteous before God.

On one hand we have the religious left who wants to use the government to impose what they call social justice in America.  Many in this group think they can right all wrongs by the use of government force.

Are there poor people in America? Let’s use government force to take money from those who have it and give it to those who don’t.  Of course poor is a relative term. Poor in America and poor in other parts of the world are two very different things.

Are there sick people in America? Let’s use government force to ensure that all have equal access to any and all medical care that they desire regardless of cost. Again this will require forcing those who have money to pay for those who don’t but so what. It’s the “right” thing to do, it’s “for the children”. Of course some are sick because they refuse to take responsibility for themselves. They engage in high risk behavior, they refuse simple inexpensive treatment or prevention and then expect the government to take care of them when something worse comes along.

And what about equality? Isn’t this nation founded and the idea of equality for all. Well, that depends on whether you are talking about equal opportunity or equal results. Many think that the government should be used to enforce equality of results.  If person A has more than person B, the government should step in and make person A give up some of his stuff. Of course it doesn’t matter that person A worked diligently all his life and person B didn’t. It doesn’t matter that person A made smart choices regarding education and family and person B didn’t. Let’s use the power of government to make it all equal.

This is the religion of the left in America. Government as God. Government as protector of the environment. Government as insurer of equality. Government as savior of all mankind.

Then we have the religious right in America. They too want to use the power of government but in a very different way than the left. The right wants to use the government to force every one to live the way they think we ought to live.

Is sin a problem in America? Let’s use the power of government to force people to stop sinning.

Homosexuals want to get married? We’ll put a stop to that! Let’s amend to constitution to disallow it. Of course it matters not that marriage in the Bible is a covenant between a man, a woman, and God, government not being mention at all in the equation.  It matters not that homosexuality is sin and sin is a problem of the heart. Let’s just use government to force them to live like we think they should.

Do some people take drugs? We’ll put a stop to that! Let’s use the government to enforce a “War On Drugs”. Let’s mandate harsh sentences for even the most minor infractions. That’ll show em!  

Of course Jesus said it’s not what goes in to a mans mouth that defiles him, it’s what comes out of his mouth (Mark 7:19) but never mind that. We know drugs are bad, right? I mean some drugs are bad. You know what I mean, the illegal ones. Some drugs are good.  You know… the ones that help us to sleep or to wake up or to be more alert mentally or to have more energy. Those drugs are OK because the government says they are OK.

And if one of our good church people were to have a problem with these good drugs we must forgive him. We must give him the benefit of the doubt. We must stand by them and support them and get them into a 12 step program. After all,  a good man who supports our church shouldn’t have his life ruined by a small indiscretion like this. He has a family and they all love the Lord.

But if it’s a poor man who doesn’t go to our church and he has a problem with say cocaine or marijuana, well let’s lock him up and throw away the key. I know, he has a family too but you can’t be too lenient with these people. Let em rot in jail. We must protect our children from these bad drugs!

Is the culture getting more corrupt? Is television, movies, the recording industry burrowing ever deeper into debauchery? We’ll put a stop to that! Let’s get government to pass more laws preventing this sort of thing.

Of course my bible says things like “love not the world, neither the things that are in the world” (1John 2:15). Could that possibly mean things like movies, television or music?  My Bible says “come out from among them, and be ye separate…” (2Cor 6:17), but let’s not think about that. I mean we can’t really be expected to come out from among the world can we? Didn’t God give us this world and all that’s in it to enjoy? Didn’t He say take dominion over it and doesn’t that mean we should use the world to enrich ourselves so that we can promote His kingdom?

This is the religion of the right. Use the power of government to enforce a form of Godliness. Use the power of government to enforce an outward morality that ignores the root of the problem.

Religion is wicked regardless of which side it’s on. Both sides have a form of Godliness and both sides deny the power of God (2Tim 3:5). Both sides put their trust in men and worldly ways. Politicians pander to both the right and the left. Bill Clinton represented the religious left in this country. G.W. Bush represents the religious right. They are two sides of the same coin. Clinton was an adulterer after the flesh, Bush is an adulterer after the spirit. What’s the difference? They are both adulterers before God.

One day in America one side or the other will gain so much of an advantage through the power of government that the other side will see no choice but to take matters into their own hands. Violence will beget violence.  The power of government will be used to crush the rebellion. Those on the “wining” side will rejoice.  Liberty will be gone and a “benevolent” dictator will arise. 

In the first civil war, both north and south were sure that God was on their side. They were both wrong.  During WW II both Germany and Japan knew that God was on their side. They were both wrong.

Which side will you be on? The right side, the left side, or God’s side?

Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 2 Cor 6:17

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originally published 7-19-04
Steve Lumbley 2004  www.apostasywatch.com
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