Partisanship and other musings

As usual, I am procrastinating. I should be preparing a talk right now, but I'm blogging instead.

Never mind. :)

This morning, I've been meditating on our propensity to partisanship. It seems to be a very easy thing to divide into ever-smaller homogeneous groups. Perhaps it feels more secure to be surrounded only by people who completely agree with you. Perhaps the thought that someone might disagree is a far too threatening prospect for some. Perhaps being correct about issues is seen as more important than maintaining caring relationships between people. I've actually heard that as an argument for why women shouldn't be in leadership - we're too soft hearted and prefer to maintain good relationships rather than be right about an issue. I'm not commenting on that particular issue, but just on the question of whether we sometimes find it too easy to divide and separate.

Sometimes there is the necessity for partisanship. When someone is obviously in error and is leading others astray, then it's necessary to protect the group by separating from the danger point. However, it requires discernment as to when division is necessary, and division should always be a last resort after all mediation, discussion and reconciliation efforts have been exhausted.

But when is it not OK to be separate from someone? Having been to a college outside the accepted group, I have been blissfully unaware of certain divisions and separations that apparently I'm supposed to avoid. The focus was on commonality and cooperation in a college with students from 15 denominations. But the longer I've been working in a particular setting, the more aware of partisanship I've become. I've become aware of my own organisation's separateness, and also of those around who are trying to separate our people from us.

God is not of a single denomination. Each group that practices separation seems to operate on the principle that God is behind their individual decision. I have yet to meet anyone who knowingly believes they are wrong about a division-causing issue but holds on to it anyway. But as the great revivals and evangelistic crusades of the past have shown, God is more powerfully at work when his people are moved to prayer and to cooperation, rather than separation. As long as we hide behind a veneer of suspicion and partisanship, God is not going to bless our efforts to any great degree. After all, he would end up blessing little personal empires rather than people's quest for his glory.

Having just finished John Newton's biography (yes, it has taken a while, hasn't it?), one of the things that struck me was his affability with the dissenters. He worked in the established church, yet he wasn't particularly partisan. His chief loyalty was to Jesus, and that allowed him to have much in common with all others who followed Christ. He achieved a great deal by avoiding partisanship rather than spending undue time trying to make everything "correct".

A recent sermon I listened to asked the question "Does God have a sense of humour?" The answer is yes. The preacher highlighted the fact that God pokes fun at people "who take themselves too seriously, and God too lightly". Sometimes in our effort to be correct, we are instead taking our own opinions far more seriously than God's intentions, and the result is disastrous. If the gospel is to be shared to the ends of the earth, we're going to have to do it together.

Lord, help me to repent of my partisanship.