Practice Your Division

A father recently visited his daughter's second-grade class at school, and saw something that troubled him deeply. The teacher was quizzing the students on their addition facts. When the teacher asked the class, "What is two plus two?" Some of the students responded "four," others "three," and still others had no idea.

The father was incensed! But . . .

He wasn't angry that many in the class didn't know the correct answer. He was angry - furious - that the teacher would present material that divided the class. How dare that teacher create a divisive spirit among those innocent children!

He spoke to the school administrators, addressed the PTA, started petitions and awareness campaigns, and finally gained the attention of the DOE, where he found an attentive audience. Through his hard work and passion, the father succeeded in having math class banned from schools.

Now . . . remove the word "math" from my clumsy little parable, and substitute "doctrine".

People are incensed at the presentation of doctrine. Pastors are shamed into silence or at best ambiguity. Why? Because doctrine divides.

Yes, doctrine divides. But . . . it is supposed to (e.g., Titus 1:9). It is supposed to divide the true from the false. And that is not a Pauline novelty -- that is a core of Jesus' teaching in the Gospels. In fact, the ultimate division is coming (think: wheat from tares, sheep from goats).

While we need to take great pains that our delivery is not off-putting, insofar as we can, we must nevertheless pursue the highest possible standards of quality, veracity, and effectiveness in our preaching of doctrine. We must "speak the truth in love," but we must never forget that we must speak the truth.