taken from
Gary W. Summers
HOW DOCTRINE DISRUPTS UNITY
See what a problem doctrine is? No wonder unity meetings are about feeling good. Thinking would kill them. No wonder shallow messages are gaining in popularity and people prefer entertainment to reason and analysis. The minute something of substance is taught, disagreement erupts.
How did Jesus deal with this problem? He chose substance. What about when people disagreed with Him? He showed them where they were wrong and what the Truth was (Matt. 22). "But He didn't unite all of them," someone observes. Sure He did. He united them against Himself and His disciples. Unity is desirable, but Truth is paramount. Jesus would have united all of Israel if He could have; it was His devout wish (Matt. 23:37). But Truth (doctrine) is more important--even if disunity results and prevails.
Only a few will choose to walk in Truth. The rest will reject it--because of tradition (Matt. 15:1-9), immorality (2 Peter 2), the desire to have their own following (Acts 20:30), peer pressure (Matt. 26:69-75), lukewarmness (Rev. 3:15-16), or because they have lost their first love (Rev. 2:4). All of them will have to live eternally with their decision.
So long as doctrine thrives, there will be division among God's people. Even man-made denominations cannot avoid it. It is simply a fact of spiritual life. We do not rejoice in division, but we do rejoice in the Truth and in the God who revealed it to us. Only those who love Him will experience true unity forever.