A play on words? Indeed. Yet, it speaks of a house divided. I read in scriptures of a city with twelve gates, three on all four sides. That city is pictured throughout biblical history. It suffered from attack and desolation again and again. The story of rebellion, repentance, and restoration is told over and over. And yet the conflict that brought about its final destruction, which remains to this day, was the fighting within.
I speak of Jerusalem and the final battle of 70AD. A horrible end for the city that held the place of worship for centuries. Its end was from within as the Roman army surrounded them and sat and waited them out. The jealousy and competition within brought brother against brother and parents against children. The dead were left in the streets or thrown over the wall into the valley below. Those that attempted to escape were slaughtered or enslaved by those without.
There were none to resist when Titus marched in and plowed the streets and burned what was left to the ground. This house is left desolate to this day. A nation still to proud to admit its error and acknowledge their sin. They are a proverb to all that pass.
Frankly, I stand in a field of what once was a great people. Nothing but the remains of what was. Like the pictures of what was at Shiloh, Vicksburg, and Gettysburg. Not the bodies of foreign invaders, but men of the same nation divided by pride. Only by pride cometh contention, so teaches the word. And still they refuse to admit their error. Still they squabble over opinions and tradition and will not acknowledge the Lord. I'm not talking about this nation as such, but the field that once formed this nation.
I stand over what once was a people who held the place of worship and the word of God. The ruins are everywhere like Birmingham and Joplin after the storms. Nothing but empty buildings and scattered families where once there was song and praise. It is a was a war between the gates, within.
Can these bones live? Thou knowest O' LORD!
I speak of the people known as PRIMITIVE BAPTISTS. Is there any hope of coming together under the name of Christ? Or will we dry up where we have fallen? God can make these bones live again. Blow wind of the Spirit and bring us together again. Remove those that speak division for vain glory. We have sinned and our fathers have sinned. Restore us OH GOD! Bring our scattered from the four winds. Save our children from false teaching of the past and the influence of today. God have mercy and send workers into your harvest, IN JESUS NAME, Amen.

​Not proper English I know, but you get the point, especially it you ever had a parent frustrated enough with the "why?' to say it.
Somewhere along the line in our modern day of intelligence some genius decided to teach that parents needed to first sit down with 'little Johnny or Susie' and explain the consequences of his or her decisions and affect on others in matters of discipline.
Wonderful, Johnny or Susie runs out into the middle of a busy street and you need to first explain to them that this is not a good decision and perhaps could be detrimental to their health and stressful on others driving that way today. Brilliant!
What the kid needs to have screamed at them is, "Come here, NOW!" And if they live long enough to ask the obvious, "Why?"; the answer should be, "Because I said so!"
The beginning of man's fall was questioning God's authority and word. That hasn't changed for thousands of years. To this day man is still asking, 'why?'. The answer is, "Cause God said so". You don't have to understand all the whys, and in reality in this life, you never will. There are indeed consequences to our actions and we live them daily. But, until you are willing to learn by reason, you need to know to act because God said so.
Parents are to example God's ways, not the ignorance of society in the home. You are not your child's friend when they are too small to understand. But, your voice is the first thing they relate to. They need and even desire the stability of consistent tone in your voice in acceptance and discipline. They need to know the reality and consequence of "Cause I said so!" Nuff said.

​To start with I drive a bus, so that somewhat would make sense of my perspective. But, perspectives change for various reasons. It might also bear saying that I grew up in Mississippi and rode a bus many days/years to get to school as well. There were things that without elaborating that went on in those days that related to buses and those that rode them. Suffice it to say that there was a stigma concerning riding, or being forced to ride in the "back of the bus".
Regardless of those days and circumstances when I rode there was something about getting to ride in the back of the bus. That is where the older kids sat. That is where the "cool" kids congregated. Little kids were forbidden and were picked on in the back of the bus. That is where the fights always broke out and where the hidden movements and relationships began. That is where language that was not used in public was whispered. Well, friends, "WELCOME TO THE BACK OF THE BUS"!
You see from my perspective I didn't understand why folks thought it degrading or insulting to be forced to sit on the back of the bus. That is where all of us little kids wanted to be. That is where our big brothers and sisters sat and wanted us separated from them so they could be with their friends. And that guy at the front, well, he was out of touch and too old to care about the back of the bus or hopefully he did know what was going on there, cause he just might do something about it. Sorry, ain't that way any more.
You see now that I am that old guy at the front of the bus and drive with my hands tied and ears plugged, I can't do any thing about the 'back of the bus'. My whole perspective has changed, but back there is still pretty much the same, maybe worse! But, the problem is that the kids that sat there in my youth are now the grownups that openly share in public what they did in the 'back of the bus' years ago.
What does shock the 'cool' kids is that the old guy knows what they are doing back there and marvel that without a 'smart phone' or internet somebody is watching and knows their motives and actions. That's cause I sat in the 'back of the bus' when I grew up and arrived!
Now, what really gets me is that the same mentality goes on in every gathering where authority is at the front. Go to a concert, sports stadium, or rock show and see where everyone wants to be; Right, front row, center! Come to church and watch the back fill up first. I'm starting to understand. Perspective is everything. Rebellion of authority started it all. Don't think I need say much more. One old guy told me once, "When I used to go to church I sat in the back. I was afraid something was going to get on me. Now, I sit in the front and hope something does!"
WELCOME TO THE BACK OF THE BUS.