Worry About the Camels, Not the Gnats

It’s hard to believe how many denominations and independent churches there are today, yet there’s only one Bible, one message. It’s evident that God has one thing to say to all people, a single plan for our conduct and relationship with Him.

But over the years, because of our pride and narrow-mindedness, we’ve felt the need to develop a myriad of churches and church groups, even different versions of the Bible, to suit our own strict interpretations of what we believe the Bible says.

I’ve come to realize that none of us are 100 percent correct. Most of the things we fight over are petty. In Matthew 23:24, Jesus told the Pharisees that they strained out a gnat but swallowed a camel. They had gotten so picky about the little things, it prevented them from dealing with the things that were truly important.

As long as we allow prejudice, hatred and division to continue to have a place in our lives, we’ll be powerless to stop it. Only agreement and unity in the love of Christ will bring the power to defeat prejudice. We can defeat hatred by allowing love to overcome our critical, divisive attitudes toward others.