“1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; 3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? 4 For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?” (1 Corinthians 3:1-4 NKJV)

One of the most natural things any of us face today is to settle on a particular loyalty and then root and support our decision against all who have other, competing loyalty. I have seen farmers almost come to blows over loyalties to brands of tractors. John Deere, Ford, Massie Ferguson are brand names that separate farms, families and in some places entire communities. Dare I mention politics? How about football teams or baseball teams? Actually, there are so many competing loyalties they almost boggle the imagination. Friends are chosen based on loyalties; communities are formed based on loyalties. I actually know people who refused to move into a particular area of the county because in the last election it had voted Republican, and they were Democrats.

People take their loyalties seriously.

We expect that type of behavior in the world. I guess the compelling force behind loyalties is a deep need to belong, to associate with others who are just like us.

Occasionally, major events happen that remind us of a greater set of loyalties which trump the subset of loyalties that define us from day to day. I need only to mention a couple: Pearl Harbor, 911. These events overruled everything. Each citizen was reminded that above all we are Americans, facing a common threat. The defining loyalties that had so-separated were instantly put into perspective and seen as the silliness they were.

The Corinthian church had allowed itself to settle into silly camps. Some were supporters of Paul, and some were supporting Apollos. It doesn’t really matter why they had settled into these camps, but they did, and as a result the mission and purpose of the church was crippled. “Who you supported” became more important than anything else.

Is this happening at Ivy? Actually, this is a part of the “flesh” of every church in every age and every place. Knowing this doesn’t mean we accept it; rather it means we avoid it whenever and wherever possible.

PJ