Those Who Sow Discord

Our church has had to do some unpleasant things lately in regards to this subject. Church discipline (underone or overdone these days?) entered into the picture and was done. All very painful.

In searching out videos etc. on church dicipline etc., I did come across the following video and thought it hit the nail on the head in many ways. In my opinion, it is a very good analysis of those who sow discord. You may not agree fully with his solutions, it seems they might vary a bit in each circumstance and location. But if you listen, perhaps you might gain a bit of wisdom and insight.

Well, I can't get the link to work. Sorry about that. But a partial transcript of the teaching follows. I'll work on the link meanwhile.

SOWING DISCORD

Sowing discord is one of the most heinous crimes in the Bible. To sow discord is to say and do things which cause distrust among one another, which results in arguments and fights. Usually the sower is acting as if he/she is not trying to cause arguments.

Sowing discord is a deceitful act because it is done through sneakiness, lies, and using gossip in a way that makes the guilty person appear to be a better person. It alters how people think about others and creates mistrust. It can invite bad judgments, can cause one to voice disparging comments about a person who was once a close friend. It can spoil sound relationships between family members and close friends.

There may be times when jealousy creeps into a person's life, causing them to resort to sowing discord. There may also be times when a person feels threatened by another and discord is sown to try to discredit the individual. These acts are unacceptable with God.

Sowing discord often comes in the form of casual conversation. Everything seems innocent until one person starts to paint a picture about another person in a malicious way. They are manipulating how they want someone else to be viewed. When they are sowing discord they assassinate another person's character.

Provers 6:16-19

All of these, including sowing discord is against the law of God.

God wants us to come together in harmony.

If we love God, why do we sow discord?

Some do it in ignorance. Gossip was a part of their everyday life before they knew Christ and they never realized it is against the law.

Other people sow discord becasue they refuse to admit something is going on within their own spirit.

Proverbs 6:12-14

Many times people refuse to admit something is going on within their own spirit that causes them to sow discord in the first place.

To help us recognize the signs of one who sows discord, let's dig deeper and look at the definition of a froward person.

Froward ”“ (of a person) difficult to deal with; contrary.
Habitually disposed to disobedience and opposition.

These froward people are typically not team players because they always go against the grain.

Proverbs 6:12

This is a contentious person and drama follows them wherever they go.

Some people sow discord because they have a froward heart. This person believes in elevating themselves by tearing other people down.

There are two ways to have the tallest building in town. One way is to tear down everyone else's building. The other way is to choose to make your own building taller. Those who sow discord tear down everyone else's building. Often times they do this becasuse they lack confidence in their own ability to build. Some- times it bothers them that another person has faith. They don't want anybody to succeed in life but themselves.

A discord sower is a jealous person and an insecure person. When they are in the presence of someone who threatens them they will whisper in the ear of other people to make sure this person is not viewed in a positive manner.

Sometimes people sow discord so they can be viewed as the one trusted friend. They don't like it when others have close bonds. So they privately go from one person to the next telling stories pitting one person against the other to create mistrust between two friends making themselves the go to person because the brother or sister that you confide in now believes you have their best interest at heart. "Oh man, he is looking out for me. I would have never known that this other person said this. Thanks for the heads up. I would have never known this person felt this way about me. I thought they were my friend.”

When someone sows discord they are jealous of another person's relationships, possessions, or potential for growth.
Now a big reason people sow discord is because they are harboring resentments against someone else, and no matter what, they cannot let it go!

Proverbs 17:9

What this means is that sometimes there are situations in life that happen that you don't like and you get over it. There are other times when people do something to you and you can never get over it. So you sow discord against that person as a form of revenge, even if the other person never intended to offend you.

Discord ruins relationships, discord breaks up families, discord causes fights, and in many cases discord can also lead to death.

Discord is a very dangerous and destructive spirit, so how can we deal with it?

I heard an radio interview with Coleman Luck. He offered good info and insight in my opinion. I took some notes.

"The Day of the Wolf: Confronting Wolves in the Church" ”“ by Coleman Luck

Wolves in the church hide themselves ”“ they operate by stealth.

There are:
Process wolves ”“ didn’t start out to be a wolf but a process made him into a wolf.
Born wolves ”“ started out this way and now have positions in the church.

A spiritual wolf is a person who has simply decided that his or her approach to ministry is the right way and many times the only way.

They claim to have special insight from God.

They have no accountability and are operating on a level of selfishness. They make selfish decisions.

There are people around them who are constantly praising and stroking them. If that person or persons stops doing that they stop being allowed into the inner circle of the wolf.

Spiritual wolves are people who essentially believe they are presenting the work of God and preaching, living, and teaching according to what they say Jesus taught in the scriptures, but in fact they are using it to ADVANCE THEMSELVES.

Spiritual wolves create chaos wherever they go.

They are many times extremely charming.

Their minds are disorganized.

They destroy people right and left.

They choose to have vulnerable people around them.

They get a pass from their followers in regard to their wrong behavior.

When you confront wolves you are likely to be wounded.

Packs ”“ when you confront a wolf you will likely be facing all the lesser wolves around them.

Plus there are ignorant sheep caught up in these type of situations.

There are tares in the church also. So wolves in the church are surrounded by:
Tares
Packs who follow the wolf
Ignorant sheep

If you bring a wolf into the light they will cringe. They can’t stand that type of exposure.

Wolves and their pack intimidate others who won’t keep supporting them and toeing their line.

We often cannot identify wolves because we can’t identify bad fruit from good fruit.

The entertainment model in many churches today is working against us. Many activities seem to be all right yet can’t pass a real biblical test, yet this is looked past because to entertain is the goal and many people therefore end up responding positively to wolves.

HUMILITY ”“ good fruit comes from an attitude of humility.

Are people being led to Jesus or to something else?

More repentance is needed.
Many have left their first love.

Fruit is CHARACTER. Many are willing to overlook bad fruit.

Many spiritual wolves think and believe they are good guys.

Wolves have self-pity. "I am misunderstood.”

They have in fact denied reality.

Wolves can be hard to spot. We have underestimated the ability of Satan to appear beautiful.

If you are coming back from living under the power and influence of a wolf, stop looking at the wolf and mistakes you have made and LOOK AGAIN TO JESUS.

Confronting the wolf ”“ bloodying a bully’s nose usually stops their bullying. You don’t literally bloody the nose of a spiritual wolf, but by way of analogy, you can go to the sheep field and confront the preying wolf, and his pack, and bloody his and their nose. Shepherds need to guard the sheepfold.

Wolves use power and control.

Beware of the wolf and his inner ring ”“ this is where wolves live.

Beware of those who volunteer to disciple you.