KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 12:25.” 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:”

After the Pharisees had accused the Lord of casting out devils by the spirit of Beelzebub, the Lord corrected them that, Satan cannot fight against his kingdom. He added that any kingdom that is divided against itself shall not stand.

We see in our day-to-day experiences that marital homes, friendships, various business partnerships, and even nations break up, because of divisions that ensue between them. Most of these divisions are initiated by the evil one who acts behind the scenes.

Marriage which forms the smallest unit of our societies easily break up. These divisions ultimately affect the bigger society, that is the nation.

The scriptures suggest how to avoid such break ups. “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.” — Philippians 2:3 (KJV)

The above verse, tells us certain both actions that must not be done as well as those that ought to be observed, so we could maintain our homes, friendships, and associations and ultimately the unity of our nation. There are those things that one must avoid outright.

1. Nothing must be done through strive. To strive means to compete with your partner or associate. It also means to exert effort such that one party would be disadvantaged. These things create bad blood, and ultimately a break up.

2. The next thing is not seeking vain glory. What is vain glory? It is called vain because the party seeking it does so to the detriment of the larger group. A couple with a joint account finds one party using the money to develop a private project, He or she is definitely seeking a vain glory. Whenever individual parties of a group do things to benefit their sole interest, it is vain glory, that hurts the other party, and may lead to a division. A church may even break up, when a very influential partner, begins to seek financial advantage over the whole group. These things are described as vain glory. Such actions are mostly motivated by selfishness.

In that very verse (Philip 2:3) the Holy Spirit suggests certain actions that partners must cultivate, which would foster a greater level of unity among them.

1.They must have a low mindedness. To be lowly minded is to be humble. It is to be less of yourself. A man who is lowly minded is able to endure bad and difficult situations. He does not keep hurts and easily forgives. The lowly minded is also meek. As a meek man, he is very teachable or submits to the instructions of scripture, which would definitely engender a greater unity between the parties.

2.The next virtue to cultivate by various parties in a group or association, according to Philippians 2:3 is to esteem other better than themselves. This may be difficult to some individuals. As a child of God, you accept God’s word as an authority over your life. We do not argue with the word, but accepts it. Never consider yourself superior to your partner. See him or her as very important to you.  Respect every member of that group. Never consider your financial status, educational or other privileges you may have as superior to the other party or parties. The scripture says, consider the other party better than yourself. This is a binding policy, that holds the group together.

IF you are to adhere to these principles, we would have a lesser breakup of our homes, associations, groups or even our nation as a whole.

CONFESSION

I am subjected to God’s word. I do not live for my sole advantage, but for the corporate advantage of the group or partners. I am lowly minded, and therefore, I’m able to endure unexpected behaviors, and can easily forgive. I esteem my partner as better than myself.

FURTHER STUDIES

Ephesians 4: 31-32. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:  And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

Colossians 3:13. “Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.”