Division or Unity…..what is your choice?

Human history is a very interesting thing. What you will find, when you study it, is that certain things always seem to repeat themselves. The study of the great kingdoms of the past for example will show you that many of them ceased to exist when they were invaded by others that were more powerful than them. But, there are also many stories of kingdoms being destroyed through division from within. The division of a family, a people or a nation can have many reasons, but no matter where it takes place and what the reasons are, division always brings with it the destruction of unity. Without unity there is nothing holding a relationship, family, people group or nation together. The importance of unity first can be experienced by all of us within our own families. Family unity has always been the foundation for each culture and nation and we see different forms of expression of family unity throughout history and the world.  We are also familiar with the concept of unity when it comes to sports, especially team sports, where the success of a team depends on the unity within each team. Some people, even though they do not actively participate on the field, dress with a team shirt to “come into unity” with their favorite team and thus, show support for them. In politics we find that same behavior. We see colors for different political parties, T-shirts with slogans, hats, flags, signs, whatever you can think off, so that people who identify with that party can express their support. Unity plays a very important role in human life and in society. Really, if you think about it, we would not be very much if it was not for unity. Each kingdom or people, that was confronted with division and was not able to overcome it, at the end ceased to exist at some point in history. 

The importance of unity is nothing new at all and if we read the scriptures of the Bible we find many that deal with this important issue:

For if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. Or if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot continue. Mark 3:24-25 (GNV)

Jesus teaches us here that a kingdom that is divided cannot stand. This in itself is a truth that needs no explanation, but here something even deeper is revealed. The text adds to this truth the words: divided against itself! That shows us that division has a direction as to where it causes the most devastating harm. A kingdom, or a house (family) is divided not towards others, no it is divided against itself. Once that division takes root, if measures are not taken, the division widens with each day and it will come to the point of no return, where a reunification no longer seems possible. Division always destroys where it has its beginnings, it is like a cancer that grows and gathers strength the more it can get a hold of a human mind, heart and soul.

We all are participants in this great opportunity of life and surely many of us have seen and lived the impact of division personally. But, if we sit down for a moment and think about it: Do we really want to live a life that has division in it everywhere we look? At the end, when it comes down to it, division is a personal choice that we make. We chose to live united or we chose the path of dividing, this has always been true. Yes, we can argue about the reasons for why we chose to divide, but in the end, it remains within our choices to work for unity or to work on diving. 

In this important time I think it is essential for all of us to work on promoting unity again. With unity we will see the emergence of many benefits that will restore the quality of our daily lives.

It seems that today it is so hard for people to find common ground on anything, which in my humble opinion is fueled to a great extent by the 24/7 news cycle and social media. Within the information it brings to us the impulses for the division of the people into more and more special interest groups. Each group seeks out and feeds on more information of the same and quickly, division takes hold with each group standing in “unity” with their group and interests against the other groups. Common ground is not seen as a solution anymore, because that would mean to work on compromise and the active search for solutions. Even in the great bodies of discussion in our government, the words compromise and common ground seem to have lost their usefulness. 

To change this divided climate, the solution is not to wait for some outside force to come in and then all of a sudden, unity is back. This process of coming back into unity has to start with the personal action of each one of us. The Bible gives us a good perspective of what our foundation of these actions should be so that they lead us back to living in unity. 

Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Romans 14:19

Think about this for a moment! Our personal efforts should lead to peace with others and should bring mutual edification. This is a very important factor when it comes to unity. My personal definition of unity, based on a biblical perspective is the following:

Unity is a system of simultaneous deposits and withdrawals within a body of people.

Unity is a marvelous biblical principle. In 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 the body of Christ is described a human body. Each part of this body has a specific function to make this body work to its full potential. For this reason, each part of the body, no matter if it is visible, like our fingers, eyes, ears or invisible, like our heart or stomach, make a contribution to the life of that body. They contribute through their activity to the well being of the entire body while at the same time, each part of the body withdraws benefit from what that body produces as the result of the united effort.

For us as families or a as a nation it is no different. Let’s start by making the choice for unity and let our personal actions be the carriers of that decision.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,.. Philippians 2:3