The Divided Church in the Context of Rongmei

Benjamin Gondaimei

Genesis 26:20-22, and the herdsmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, the water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him. And they dig another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah. And he removed from thence, and dig another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.
We often hear the conflicting stories of villages which has taken toll on the innocent villagers in our districts or areas. We heard on the problems; on land ownership, problem on land laws, the government land laws which aren’t applicable to the tribal, fights between villages because of land, between clans, tribes and people.
Roaming around the market places and tea stall, we often see and hear elders and people discussing on common problems and issues of our society. The most cases are politics, land issues relating to certain villages which have divided the villages and weakens peace, love and unity in our society. I shall not attempt to focus on any specific cases to any particular village, but shall be looking at how land issues have impacted upon our people in general.
Politics, after wielding power into ones hand, the manoeuvre to turn over the course of village republic system of governance to private sectarian monopoly has created the heat of conflict. The alliance with the ruling government and the bureaucrats manipulating legal procedures promoting intrusion of undergrounds to process arbitrary authorisation and decree has led many of the villages a boiling cauldron. Politics has its tentacles with its long arms taking advantage of clan schism and the greed for more wealth and properties. Power Struggle, between the two or three clans base on political party lines has butchered the tranquillity in many of the villages.
Economically, people search for greener pastures and in due course of time people begin to encroached and grab somebody’s land. There are times when the owners allowed the tenant to cultivate or use their land for a period of years and gradually tenant forced in to claimed to be his/her properties insidiously.
Faulty historical narratives, there are good and bad people in our society as well. Some teaches genuine oral historical accounts while some do not. There are some who construct their own story lines and teach the younger generation their well constructed stories by assumptions which in turn will create trouble in the future to come.
Making the wrong Right, even if it is wrong, people who are powerful, rich and authoritative gets the access to be in the right. The makings of wrong into right are mostly done by bribing, people who are related to powerful people, people who are related to undergrounds, threat and relatives of the rulers.
Leadership crisis, with things going volatile in the village, the villages begins to crake up favouring different people in the leadership of the village or a community. The politics and conflicting views in the village begins to take shape in the form of unceasing meetings and groupism, which slowly evolved in the breaking up villages into smaller hamlets, forming different Authority and Pei and into broken Church.
The process of privatisation of tribal land, either community or village lands or chief’s land is going on in full swing for development. Gangmumei in the opinion of McCulloch said, the Rongmei villages live in “village republic”, the attachment to his village and village land is very strong.When the strong bond with the village land is disturbed, through development, political, economic, social or religious means; the turmoil in the village is bound to rise between any given parties.
With different spikes of trouble from socio- politics, leadership crisis, economic reasons, and stemming out from land related issue, we tend to see churches breaking up in smaller pieces. Broken Church, we have witness different church breaking up into smaller church. This smaller church means smaller mission, smaller strength, smaller voice, weakening church health and slimmer economy of the church. When the churches are divided, people are spiritually divided; the antagonism continues to build which has become a bad neighbour which is against the scripture.
Our churches are also divided because of differing opinions and beliefs on doctrines. We have witness Associations divided, people walking out from their own church to form another church, the differences in the theological upbringing and backgrounds, the clashed between the evangelicals, orthodox, radicals, liberal etc has mounted to divided church in their own whims rather than staying together in the body of Christ.
Distribution of land
Canaan was distributed among the Israelites, and to each family was given a plot of land to provide its livelihood. This was passed from father to son or at least kept within the tribe, Num. 27: 1-11; 36. From which it was theoretically inalienable I Ki. 21
We find in Genesis 13 where Abraham and Lot separated their ways because of the conflict relating to pastures land. Abraham retraces the route that brought him over the promise land to return to the altar he built between Bethel and Ai. Confident of YAHWEH’s promise to him of “this land”, he resolved a family conflict over land, allowing Lot, the younger man, who should defer to his uncle, to chose whatever area he desires.
Abraham resolution to conflict
Abraham the peaceable man
There is always a means of peace when it is desired
Everything that glitter is not gold
What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul
The man who loves himself better than his neighbour is still devoid of Christ
Spirit of selfishness shall overreach itself and accomplish its own ruin.
What lot did not take into account?
The reverence due to his uncle
The greater right which Abraham had to the soil of Canaan.
The danger in parting with Abram, of separating himself from Abram’s God.
The risk of damage to his spiritual interest in settling in the Jordan circle.

The sadness of the parting
Of kinsmen (men brethren)
Of kinsmen in a foreign land
Of kinsmen by their own hand
It is sad when brethren cannot dwell in unity.
It is better that brethren should separate then quarrel.