Recently, I wrote about the one thing you could do to bless your church and help it to be healthy. You can find that post by clicking here. Today, I want to write about the one thing that can create division and confusion in the church. These two–the best thing you can do and the worst thing you can do–are remarkably similar. They are the positive and negatives.

Near the time of His death, Jesus warned His disciples about the future. Not only did He tell His disciples about the trials and troubles they would face from others, He also prepared His disciples for the things they would do to harm each other.

In one sense, you can say it this way: the only danger to the church is the danger within. God will build His church. The gates of Hades cannot prevail against it. God is going to provide for His church. But we can hinder the church by placing stumbling blocks before others.

We have to make sure we don’t live for ourselves instead of living for God.

Jesus warned His disciples about pride.

Right after Jesus had told His disciples about His impending arrest and death, the disciples began to argue–about which of them was the greatest. It seemed they had missed the truths Jesus had imparted about His coming death. They missed the deep significance of the Supper of the Lord. Instead of seeing themselves as humble followers of Jesus, they were filled with pride.

That is a danger that you and I face. It’s easy to miss the point of the gospel and the church. Instead of serving God, we basically serve ourselves.

This is the greatest obstacle to church health and church growth. People are attracted to serving churches where the gospel is preached and lived. They are attracted to humility and the love of Jesus. And while proud, boisterous preachers or church leaders may attract a crowd for a while, people will not remain where pride and self are exalted over Jesus.

We must follow the teaching of Jesus. We must live as servants because that is the way our Lord lived on earth.

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