Separation
Psalm 26:4 I have not sat with idolatrous mortals,
Nor will I go in with hypocrites.
vs 5 I have hated the assembly of evildoers,
And will not sit with the wicked.
vs 6 I will wash my hands in innocence;
So I will go about Your altar, O Lord,
vs 7 That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving,
And tell of all Your wondrous works.
vs 8 Lord, I have loved the habitation of Your house,
And the place where Your glory dwells.
vs 9 Do not gather my soul with sinners,
Nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
vs 10 whose hands is a sinister scheme,
And whose right hand is full of bribes.
vs 11 as for me, I will walk in my integrity;
Redeem me and be merciful to me.
vs 12 My foot stands in an even place;
In the congregations I will bless the Lord.
Leviticus 20:26 And you shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.
Division
Psalm 2:2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the rulers take counsel together,
Against the Lord and against His Anointed,saying,
vs 3 “Let us break Their bonds in pieces
And cast away Their cords from us.”
I was sitting here this morning just asking the Lord what is on His heart and I heard this – “I separate; the enemy divides”
Separation is when one of the parts of a unit is able to stand completely on its own when not yoked with the other part. For example; a blouse and skirt ensemble. You can separate the pieces and pair them with another to make another unit.
Division is when a unit was meant to be a unit as a means of identification. For example; The Church, The Bride, The Miami Heat, The Nation of the U.S. These were not meant to be divided into smaller, distinct units. (Though states are distinct units they are still identified as one with the U.S.) If one person leaves one local church to go to another local church, they are still a part of The Church. That is separation. But division brings with it animosity.
In marriage, when a couple goes through separation, it is to be identified as separate individuals for the purpose of coming together again. Divorce is a division of the “one flesh”.
It isn’t difficult to see that both a separation and a division is happening in the world today. The Lord is separating the sheep from the goats, the tares from the wheat and judging His Church by whether they have separated themselves from going after and prizing the same things the world prizes; fame, power, love of money, selfish gain, etc. And Christianity cannot coincide with a liberal Democratic point of view. A Christian Democrat will have to choose between them. But the enemy is dividing; the church because of denomination and belief, division in the Republican Party and the Democrat Party, and other units that were meant to be whole. These were not meant to be divided.
So while both are taking place, be mindful of the separation taking place and even allow it. Know your business partner. Carefully consider who you are about to be yoked with or who you are entangled with. Separate yourselves from hypocrites and those who practice deception. That is going to require you to judge, or discern. If someone says “Only God can judge me” a response might be “I’d be concerned about that if I were you.”
