So much of the message of Jesus was about loving others, putting the needs of others before your own, respecting and accepting others, and living in unity, that you would imagine that the typical church would be a caring sharing selfishness-free zone. Unfortunately that is not the case. As Paul warned in chapter 16 of his letter to the Romans, “Look out for people who cause disputes and create difficulties, contrary to the teaching which you learned. Avoid them, because people like that do not serve our Lord, Jesus Christ. They serve their own appetites, and by their smooth and flattering speech, they deceive the hearts of naive people.”
It is hard to imagine why churches attract people like this, but once you have been around churches for a while you will discover them. They are the self-appointed leaders of the opposition. They like nothing better than to create an argument, start a fight, and get mischief happening. The astounding thing is that until you discover this about them, they look just like everybody else. They seem to be good loving caring followers of Jesus. They know all the right things to say, they display generosity, they help people; and then suddenly their alternative personality kicks in, and there is no stopping them until they have left a devastating trail of ruin behind them.
It is hard to know what to do when one of these types of people is in full flight. Sometimes you want to stand up and fight them. Sometimes when you hear only their side of a story you believe that they have suffered a great injustice. You become one of the “naive people” whom they deceive “by their smooth and flattering speech”, and you want to fight against their imagined adversary. But if you let yourself get drawn into the fight you end up getting bruised and battered, and possibly discouraged and disillusioned. So the best thing to do is to accept the advice of Paul and watch out for such people and avoid them.