2 Samuel 3:18
"Now then do it: for the LORD hath spoken of David, saying, By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel out of the hand of the Philistines, and out of the hand of all their enemies."
One of the troubling stories in the Scriptures is found after King Saul was killed. There was a faction of people who anointed David king of Judah, but the rest of Israel fought a needless battle for Saul's name to continue. According to the verse above, Israel knew that David was to be king, but because they were more interested in fighting for a man lives were lost and the kingdom was weakened. If Israel had kept their eyes on God, they would not have fought this needless battle.
This story still goes on today. Christians get their focus wrong, and they fight needless battles over personalities. Don't get me wrong, the Scriptures do teach to give honor to whom honor is due, but they are not teaching that we should be fighting for man or focused upon man. There are several consequences when we get our focus wrong and we fight over personalities.
First, innocent people are spiritually killed. There are many young Christians who don't understand the fighting over personalities, so they simply quit church because they want nothing to do with it. I have watched many people over the years drop out of church because of the squabbling that goes on inside the local church. These are needless casualties. If the church will keep its eyes on God, you won't lose these younger Christians who don't understand the fighting.
Second, God's will is set back. In the story above, David should have been anointed king immediately after Saul was killed, but he wasn't because they were fighting for the wrong person. God's will always suffers when we fight over man. The negative energies that are placed upon fighting over personalities could be used in a positive manner to keep people out of Hell. God's will doesn't need setbacks because there are enough obstacles to overcome without having to needlessly overcome the battle over personalities.
Third, unneeded divisions are created. There was a division in Israel had they looked at David's heart they would have seen he loved Saul as much as they did. When a church fights over personalities, you will see divisions that keep the church from reaching the lost as they should. A church needs to set aside these divisions for the sake of keeping people out of Hell.
Fourth, God's name is marred. The biggest problem with fighting over personalities is that the enemies will always look at us and want nothing to do with God. Friend, the world will look at the infighting of the local church and will lay it upon God's name. The world needs to see Christ being served and not a church fighting over personalities.
Don't take this devotional as ammunition to say that we should not fight for truth. That is not the purpose of this devotional at all. Neither is this devotional about churches getting along with each other. This devotional is about the members of a local church fighting with each other. If a church fights over personalities, it will hurt that church and the cause of Christ in their community. Let's keep our focus upon Christ and we won't have the needless fighting over legacies, institutions and personalities.