It is an abomination to God; wicked, vile, exceptionally loathsome, hateful, and sinful. Satan used it to inspire the first sin. It was a motivator in the first recorded murder. It has been the reason for, and the theme in, most wars since the beginning of mankind. It has been used by tyrants to justify the murder of millions, by educators to impose godless values on malleable minds, by crooked politicians to win power and by devious lawyers to get unjust verdicts. It has taken the form of sexism, racism, tribalism, and classism. It can be summarized in one phrase: “divide and conquer.” It can be expressed in one word: “division.” God hates it!

Social engineer, Jacque Fresco, explained how division is used politically: “If you make people uniform, you can control them. If you teach people to read, and think, and question things, you lose control. So, the best idea is to separate people if you wish to maintain a monetary system. It’s called divide and conquer. By dividing people, they’re not a threat, you can control them.” He just described a favorite tactic of Satan, who routinely uses division to control mankind. According to Scripture, God created mankind to be free, but Satan set out to control mankind. Whenever people have fallen for this tactic of the Enemy, everyone has always lost in some way. Division between God and man (sin) and division between people have mangled the human race and inflicted incredible pain and suffering on our world. 

But God had a solution. He stepped into time and into human culture to show us a better way. As He walked the earth, in the form of Jesus Christ, He modeled the solution to sin and division. Note that He did not try to solve the race problem, the class problem or the gender problem through laws, through legal action or through protests. He just loved people. He ministered to everyone: Jew, Gentile, male, female, young, old, physically impaired, immoral, sinful, elite, outcasts, demon possessed, lepers, and the poor. “God so loved the world that He gave…” (John 3:16). Everyone benefited.

It worked. The love of God has changed the world wherever it has been spread. With God’s help, people have come together to create loving families, wonderful churches and decent societies. Love has built hospitals, homeless shelters, schools and missions. Love has elevated the lives of millions of people. Of course, just as Jesus was politically railroaded and executed, good people have often been opposed. But if enough of us will keep hating what God hates and loving what God loves, division and war will lose their power, and mankind will be a just little more free.