“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!” (Psa. 133:1). It doesn’t take much to understand this concept. Besides Jesus, unity is one thing our country could use. The unity that is being preached by the parties in control is not real unity. When people say “unity” these days, it is more like compliance with their system of thought. “We can be friends if you believe and think the way I do on everything” is the sentiment. Those that rule over this land will never unify. There would have to be a common good, the will of the people, and a common goal, the betterment of our nation. The only thing they seem to be in step on is greed. The need for power and money. In the end, it is a human institution. It is bound to have issues.
The church is quite the opposite. We must dwell in unity. This was something that Christ prayed for. “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me” (John 17:20-23). It is clear that Jesus prayed for future believers and the unity that we should have in Himself and the Father. The purpose of that unity was “so that the world may believe that You sent Me” (John 17:23). Not only would we reap the benefits of dwelling in unity, but we would also be a testament to Christ and the Father.
The unity that we should be striving for is not unity with the world, with the government, or with a particular party. We will never be in unity with those human institutions. We should pray for them, “so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity” (1 Tim. 2:1-2). We need to be striving for unity despite the government and the world around us. Paul wrote, “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:1-3). The unity that we strive for starts with: (1) humility, each regarding the other more important than himself; (2) gentleness, not behaving in a contrary manner; (3) being patient and tolerant with the things that God would be patient and tolerant with; (4) displaying a love that wants the best for others. Those attributes coupled with a diligence to see it through is what the church needs to keep the division in our nation out. Don’t be guilty of divisiveness.