Day 13 - Divided House

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Today's Scripture:  Matthew 12:22-37

Today's Devotional: Anytime you think something positive about someone else, you should tell them. We should all live by that rule, as it will help us become more comfortable speaking life-giving words.


Response by: Nick Baker

Challenged by the Pharisees when He drove demons out of a man, and accused of being Beelzebub in the process, Jesus said that “a kingdom divided against itself will be ruined.” (verse 25)  He asks why evil would cast out evil.  It wouldn’t make any sense for evil to rid the world of evil.  How does evil win in that equation?  If He truly were Beelzebub or Satan, he is effectively putting himself out of work!

Abraham Lincoln used the “divided house” metaphor when discussing the progression of slavery in the Union.  Lincoln advised that the nation could not endure half-slave and half-free.  One of the sides would ultimately win out.  So it goes with our lives.  If we try to straddle the line between toxic and life-giving, a battle will surely be waged.  The prize in this battle, however, is not land, money, pride, or glory…it is our soul.

This philosophy of the “divided kingdom” or “divided house” can be viewed through the lens of our words and thoughts.  A person who uses toxic words toward others has a hard time feeling like a life-giving force to those around them.  They can’t be both toxic and life-giving at the same time.

Later in the passage, Jesus talks about trees and the fruit they bear.  “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.” (verse 33) What Jesus tells us is that our actions are direct outcomes of what is in our hearts.  If you dwell on toxic thoughts and words, your actions are likely to be toxic.  By contrast, if you focus on life-giving thoughts and words, the outward display of this will reflect life and love.

Whether you dedicate yourself to words, thoughts, and actions that are life-giving or toxic, you will get more of the same.  Just remember that if you try to have both, you (like Jesus’ “kingdom” or Lincoln’s “house”) cannot long endure.  You will inevitably become one or the other.

Something to talk about: What does your “house” look like?  Do your words, thoughts, and actions reflect what you want…or are you trying to have it both ways?  How would your life look different if you focused on just the life-giving and ignored the toxic?