In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. – Acts 6:1

 Today's Scripture Reading (January 17, 2021): Acts 6

"When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you." The quote is often attributed to Winston Churchill, but it is actually an African Proverb that Churchill made famous in the Western World. But more importantly, in a world that was, at the time, dominated by a World War, Churchill seemed to be more worried about any division that might have existed in British Society than he was with the external threat presented by Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany. Is it possible that even in the face of an extreme external threat, the inner division is the greater danger? The unfortunate answer is yes.

This is the real tragedy of the racial divide evident in our modern world. It is not that there are different races present in our nations that is the problem. Racial and cultural diversity will always be a strength of our countries, providing a resilience that would be impossible in a monolithic culture. But that strength can only be revealed if we can stay united. In Hitler's racialized Germany, racial tensions present inside the culture were about to doom the country to fail, falling to the enemies of the Reich existing on the outside. All because the nation was divided at its core.

In the early days of the Christian Church, the enemies on the outside were plenty. Rome had executed the leader of the Church at the instigation of prominent Jewish groups. The priests, Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, and the Sanhedrin, the highest court in Israel, seemed to disagree on several issues. But on this one thing, they were unified; the Christian Church was a danger to Israel.

But the attacks weren't working. Satan's arrows were not having their intended effects on the young Church. Up until now, the Christian Church had remained united and strong against the attacks. And so, it appears that Satan was changing his tactics. Instead of bringing the attacks from enemies outside of the Church, the attacks against the Christians began to originate from the inside.

The Church believed that it had an obligation to care for the weakest among them, including the widows living among them. But the accusation that was being made was that this assistance was not being given on an equal basis. Not only was this an internal dispute inside the Church, but it was also a debate within one section of the Church. The disagreement was not between the Jewish core of the early Church and the emerging Gentile faction. It was a division from within the Jewish heart. Essentially, the Jews could be divided into two groups. The first were the Jews who embraced Jewish culture, the large majority of whom still lived in Judea. The second group were the Hellenistic Jews or Jews who clung to the Hebrew faith's religious beliefs but also adopted aspects of Greek culture. These Hellenized Jews primarily lived outside of Judea.

It was these two groups who were now in dispute. The enemy was no longer on the outside. It was inside the Church. And as the conflict continued, the danger to the health of the emerging Church grew. What the Jewish elite had failed to do was now possible because of a conflict that originated inside the body of believers itself.   

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Acts 7