Division in the Church

Someone posed the question to me in Bible Study:  "What causes division in a church?"  I can up with threee main reasons even though there might be plenty more.

1. Immaturity-There are many out there in the body of Christ today who have just not grown up yet.  Maturity is essential for a healthy congregation.  When children rule the result is oppression.  Immature Christians focus on things that don't matter.  They are the type of people who strain at the gnat and swallow the camel.  Spiritual immaturity has nothing to do with chronological age.  The worst thing to see is older immature Christians.  When an immature christian gets offended they will literally take their ball and go home like a child.  We must understand that the church was not established to cater to our personal needs but it was the vehicle that Jesus established to further the Kingdom of God.  When I was a child my older brother and I did not get along but when we became men we put the childish things behind us.  We can still disagree but nothing comes between us being brothers.  People leave the family of god everyday because they were offended by another child in the house.  When my brother and I would fight I never left my father's house because of it.  Why?  BEACUSE IT WASN'T HIS HOUSE IT WAS DADDY'S HOUSE.  Why would you leave your spiritual father over an issue with another child.  We must check our attitude at the door when we become disciples of Jesus Christ.  The love that Paul spoke of in 1 Corinthians 13 was a love for the spiritually mature.  Division will stop when people decide to grow up
2. Carnality-You can be a Christian and still be carnally-minded.  When the church is so pre-occupied with the matter of the flesh then the church is weakened.  Romans states "that to be carnally minded is death but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.  Gutter gossiping, murmuring, complaining, judging, and fault-finding are all products of a carnal mind.
3. Selfishness-Me me me me me me me me me me.  Selfish people are determined to get their way at all cost.  It doesn't matter who they hurt, how they live, or what they say as long as their selfish ways are pleased.

The early church grew so fast because the people had all things common.  They were busy caring for others.  They even established deacons so that they could help others more effectively.  The church is strongest when flesh is weakest.