“I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.” (Romans 16:17)
Division is a very powerful weapon of the enemy to obstruct any godly endeavour. Paul therefore gave a word of caution to the church to be on the look out for agents of division and to deliberately avoid them.
Jesus is the Prince of peace, and one of the key manifestations of His presence is peace and unity. Therefore, people who consistently look for means to sow seeds of confusion and mistrust amongst people are not working for God. Paul made that emphatic point in the next verse.
“For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.” (Romans 16:18)
This calls for discernment. By their fruits you shall know them. Agents of division are agents of the devil whether they are aware of it or not, simply because they aid in his agenda.
May God grant us the discernment to identify agents of division and the wisdom to avoid them.
Remain inspired!
https://joelkwesibaidoo.blogspot.com/2023/04/agents-of-division.html