Unity!

Last week in staff meeting we were discussing unity.  It’s been a hot topic amongst some here lately.  I saw a picture as some of my co-workers talked and shared things God was showing them, but I didn’t share it.  I’ve been pondering it, and waiting for the right words to describe what I was seeing.


I saw a massive rose bush next to a large piece of lattice work.  As it grew along the lattice work branches grew in all different directions, not in parallel lines straight towards the top of the lattice work.  Some of the branches intersected or came close to each other while others never touched.  All the same, the plant was strengthened and beautified by the diversity of the branches that all drew their life from the base, the root source.  Different parts of the lattice were covered in beautiful blooms because the branches grew in different directions instead of in a clump or in a uniform pattern.  But then I remembered what the scripture says about the “little foxes,” and I began to notice gnaw marks near the base of the bush.  The branches were getting severed from the base, from the life source, by these nagging foxes, and instead of a beautiful tapestry of a rose bush it was turning into a pile of sticks stuck to the lattice work.

So often people confuse unity and uniformity.  Uniformity is the quality or state of being uniform.  I grew up going to private school and we had to wear uniforms.  Meaning we all looked the same.  Uniform means having always the same form, manner, or degree : not varying or variable.  Does that sound like the church?  I believe the scriptures say we were all given different gifts, am I right?  

Interestingly enough the word uniform does not appear in any of Miriam Webster’s definitions of the word unity.  One of the definitions of unity is a condition of harmony.  Now as a musically minded individual this word harmony stands out to me.  If the definition were “a condition of unison” then I would be led to believe that in order to be in unity all of those participating must be exactly the same because when a choir is singing in unison they are singing the same notes at the same time.  However, the word is harmony.  A choir builds a harmony by different individuals singing different notes that complement each other and form one chord.  They have one common goal - to produce a beautiful sound - but they accomplish that by singing different notes.  

Another definition of unity is a totality of related parts : an entity that is a complex or systematic whole.  It’s like a car.  There is a group of related parts which are ALL DIFFERENT that are assembled in the right order and connected properly to make the car run.  Their common goal is a moving car, but they each contribute to that goal in a different way.  

We use the body as a similar analogy.  We are made up of different pieces and parts that cause our body to function properly.  However, each part has a different role and different things that are acceptable to their particular function in the body.  Blood is supposed to pump through the heart.  Blood is perfectly acceptable as long it is running through veins.  The minute blood appears in any organ, other than the heart, outside of a vein there is a problem. If there is blood in your lungs, stomach, bowels, etc... they call it internal bleeding.  It’s no longer healthy.  
Unity is not, as I said before, the condition of unison or being identical.  It is the state of harmony.  It is taking our differences and using them together to make a beautiful noise, to be a beautiful flourishing bush that crisscrosses and branches out and covers the world in His beauty.  It is using our different parts to move things along.

However, our differences make us susceptible to the little foxes.  Judgement easily creeps in and we teeter on the fine line between righteousness and self-righteousness.  We loose sight of the goal and start to point fingers, envy and knit pick our brother and sister because... their note is higher than ours. Or their branch grows to the east instead of to the west.  Or they get a little dirty and worn because they, as the foot, have to walk on the ground but as the hand I stay clean and am washed frequently.  We begin to resent each other.  We begin to build walls against each other only resulting in isolating ourselves and in the process thwart the entire mission.  We abandon the greater good and make it impossible for anyone else to accomplish it either.

When growing and grooming a rose bush you don’t cut off the branches that start to grow away from the lattice work.  Instead you gently guide it back to the structure until it finds it’s place in the beautiful tapestry of branches and blooms.  A choir director doesn’t arbitrarily decide that a note in a chord shouldn’t be sung because it is odd on it’s own.  No, instead the choir director understands the vital role that “odd note” plays in the over all sound of the choir.

I believe unity is not having to see eye-to-eye on every situation, but it is finding common ground, a common life source - CHRIST - and agreeing to disagree about the things that don’t really matter.  I’m not talking about ignoring that which the Bible blatantly and distinctly calls sin, but I am talking about letting each person walk out their own salvation with fear and trembling.  

The Apostle Paul spent a great deal of time reprimanding the church at Corinth for their immaturity.  He based their level of maturity on how free they were from jealousy and quarreling. Not on how well they followed the law, or the commandments, or how holy they were, or what level of the gifts they operated in,  but essentially on their ability to agree to disagree.  He also strongly cautioned them about getting caught up in judging each other and their leaders.

I said it before, but I believe it is worth saying again.  There is a fine line between righteousness and self-righteousness.  There is a fine line between discernment and judgement.  We must guard our hearts.  We must first examine OURSELVES!  We must also learn what really matters and what doesn’t and agree to disagree on the things that really don’t matter.

We will be in unity when we can learn to see past ourselves and keep the greater good, the common goal, at the forefront of our hearts and minds.  Allow God to be the gardener that prunes and redirects the bush, and accept that He may not choose to prune every branch the exact same way!  Guard your heart against self-righteousness and judgement and see the beauty in our differences.  Find freedom in the art of agreeing to disagree!