Day 21 of 365: Unity?

It seems the buzzword around every presidential inauguration (and this one did not disappoint) is unity. Guess what? It’s never going to happen. Okay…there you have it. End of blog. 

Alright…I will carry on and try my best to explain. 

Unity is something that everyone wants. I mean whether you are republican or democrat or any other flavor in-between the buzz word always seems to be unity. This trickles over into churches, families, etc. What’s that? Don’t believe me about families? Try and explain to your kid why they cannot have their cellphone or why they have a time limit on the Nintendo. You might find the word “unity” is difficult to achieve at times. 

Perhaps this is why I am a bit cynical when I see the “COEXIST” bumper stickers. In a perfect world this would be very attainable. Why doesn’t it exist today? Well…re-read your Bible. Specifically the whole Adam and Eve thing. Sin enters the world and their is constant strife throughout the rest of the book. Even the disciples, the ones who got front row tickets to everything Jesus did argued with one another. 

Here’s a scripture worth mentioning found in John 15:18-19(NIV) “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” I realize in Hebrews 12:14 it states “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone…” but here’s the deal; when you make an effort you can only do that for yourself. The other person has to be willing to accept. Yes make every effort and you will find sometimes it works out. You will find that some relationships, acquaintances, etc. will be peaceful but at the end of the day not everyone is going to get along. 

I have had close friends where everything was going well and either I (or they) said something not well thought out, a strong willed person shared their opinion or someone else threw the first punch thus causing a lack of unity. Friendships end and bridges are burnt because of a lack of unity. Friends are going to let each other down. Churches ought to apologize right away when someone comes in because at some point something will be said that maybe didn't come out right or was misinterpreted and unity is out the window at that point. 

Churches often strive for this. Many do everything in their power to have a peaceful life giving presence in their community and yet someone will not like you because…well….uh…..IT’S A CHURCH! Perhaps they have been let down or burnt before. Perhaps they just never liked church. Sometimes it is a direct reflection on the pastor, programs or just the fact they don’t like church, God, etc. 

Now I am not trying to be all doom and gloom here but we have to come to grips with the fact that unity didn’t fully exist in the Bible either. Unity certainly has not existed in the course of the United States. I honestly do not think it is going to exist especially in an age where internet exists and keyboard warriors can leave potshots in regards to store reviews, news posts, etc. 

Hey Christian…do what you can to find unity and peace but we need to understand this. Political arguments have always been around and it would appear are only getting worse. Do your part to live in unity with those you can. Show respect and honor another persons opinions. Do your best to show the love of Christ to others and….well….that’s all that can be expected of you. Some people no matter how much you apologize, help, stretch a hand out to; it might get slapped away. That’s not on you…well…unless you are a jerk and don’t recognize it. 

Unity? It would be nice. Am I doubtful we will ever see true world-wide unity? Yep. Call me a pessimist (though I am very much an optimistic person) but I would tend to refer to myself as someone just taking scripture for what it says. History has shown us and the future seems to be pointing in that direction as well that unity though a beautiful thought probably won't happen.