Sowing Discord

“Sowers of Discord” sow the seeds of bitterness, anger, distrust, and hatred into the ground of other people’s hearts. These actions do not come from the spirit of God but birth from hell, from the deceiver, the devil. Such divisive behavior is included in what the bible calls “the works of the flesh.” - hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies (Galatians 5:20). They are usually driven to serve their own interests and are themselves driven, scourged and mired in relentless sin. Discord Sowers exploit the passion/emotion of others, and, more often than not, derive pleasure from conflict. Sometimes they are aware of what they are doing but sometimes they just play into the hands of spiritual forces that are intent upon destroying the mission of the church. They regularly nourish these feelings that drive their behavior by brooding on, real or perceived: past injuries, present suspicions and future insecurities. They are often propelled by inner turmoil. The Sower of Discord probes the vulnerabilities of other’s; seeking for weak points to expose and exploit. They may present some valid points but generally do not offer constructive solutions. Instead of pulling God’s people together, they divide them. They project their angry hostile behaviors onto people in the congregation (usually the leaders). The targets are usually not the cause of the problem, but merely recipients of its result.

They seek to attract followers to make their divisive cases appear stronger and may present themselves as working for a good cause. It’s easier to lose focus on yourself when you are able to critically look at others. Negative emotions, lies, half-truths and innuendo are often far more exciting than the truth. To the natural man, bad news is more exciting than good news. All believers must guard their heart because it will determine the course of our life (Proverbs 4:23).

A person who sows discord are concerned with foolish and ignorant things (2 Timothy 2:23) and are stumbling block to others (Luke 17:1-2). They are to be marked and avoided. "Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses... and avoid them" (Romans 16:17).

If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault (it is between you and him alone, only the two of you are involved at this point) .If he hears you, you have gained your brother.(Matthew 18:15). But if he will not hear, take with you one or two witnesses (by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.) And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. Take it to the church leadership, only as a last case scenario.

Consider the Old Testament story of Absalom. This proud young man, the son of David, used his good looks and smooth ways to create division within Israel (2 Samuel 14-19). Absalom’s pride and the ensuing division destroy many lives and led to great sorrow for many, including his own father. Today, while pride and the desire to create followers will rarely cost anyone their physical life, as happened to Absalom and many others, it will bring sorrow to a church and cost people their souls. If we are to avoid a worse punishment than that suffered by Absalom, we must avoid pride because it leads to the sowing of discord among our brothers and sisters, the children of God Almighty.