Have You Been Watching the News?
The Spiritual Practice of Unity
Our hearts grieve and our prayers go out to those caught up in the battle in Israel. And those in Ukraine. And those in the 45 armed conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa, the 35 armed conflicts in the rest of Africa, the 21 armed conflicts in Asia, the seven armed conflicts in Europe, and the six armed conflicts in Latin America.
And our hearts grieve for the church…just one more place where we too often fail to engage in the spiritual practice of unity. As James warns us, “No one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:8, NLT).
Did you know that living in peace and unity is a spiritual practice? It is. A hard one for many of us. But that’s why we “practice” spiritual disciplines; we keep trying and the Holy Spirit keeps transforming us. And unity is not just about our mouths. The mouth simply reveals what is in the heart.
Adele Calhoun defines the practice of unity this way: “Unity is the mark that demonstrates to the world that the body of Christ is one organism, with one faith, one hope, one baptism and one God and Father of all. Unity lives out the reality that Christ has already reconciled all things to himself. So in him we belong to one another” (Spiritual Disciplines Handbook).
But there are so many topics that entice us to destroy unity: politics, race relations, gender issues, the color of the carpet at church. We all have our own opinions and desires, our sensitivities and our blind spots.
I recently saw a post on social media that made me laugh. It read, “Wow! Thank you for changing my mind by sharing that thoughtfully worded argument on Facebook.” I imagine that might happen, but it’s certainly not the norm.
God’s people are not immune to disunity whether online or face-to-face. But this isn’t God’s design for his bride, the church! Ephesians 4:2-3 (TPT) challenges us to practice unity:
“With tender humility and quiet patience, always demonstrate gentleness and generous love toward one another, especially toward those who may try your patience. Be faithful to guard the sweet harmony of the Holy Spirit among you in the bonds of peace.”
I hear someone shouting, “I have to disagree when someone contradicts the Bible!” Okay, sometimes we might need to disagree, in love (lovingly). However, remaining silent is often the better plan. (And let’s be honest, most disunity is not caused by a disagreement over a foundational truth of Scripture!) Rupert Meldenius famously stated a principal that we should consider: “In essentials unity. In nonessentials liberty. In all things charity.”
Practice Unity for yourself
Here are some ideas for practicing the spiritual discipline of unity for you as an adult:
Worship at a church very different than your own. Look for similarities in the worship services, and pick one part of the service that you wish your church would adopt.
Commit to not speaking about other Christians in unkind ways. Ask your friend, spouse, (or best of all, your teenager, if you have one) to remind you when you slip. Consider spending less time with people who repeatedly speak poorly about others.
Seek out someone with whom you’ve had conflict and apologize for your part in the disunity. Listen to that person’s heart as he shares how the conflict has affected him.
Share the practice with the children and teens in your life
How can we help children and teenagers practice living in peace and unity? Here are some practical ideas:
Love one another. Search online for “one anothers in the Bible” and you’ll find many lists. Read one “another” each Sunday evening as a family or text the verse to a child you know who lives far away. Commit to practicing peace and unity as described in the verse all week long. This will take you more than a year, as there are 59 one-anothers in the Bible!
Pray for one who persecutes you. Listen to a child or teen you know tell you about someone from her life who is hard to love, maybe even someone who bullies her. Pray for the antagonist and ask God to show himself to that “EGR” (extra grace required) person.
Choose one thing to overlook. Ask your child or teenager about something that “bugs” him. (Any child with a brother or sister will have a list!) Then challenge the child to pick one thing to purposefully “overlook” in the coming week for the purpose of living in unity.
For more ideas, check out our free KidZ at Home resource guides and video discussions designed to help you and your family practice unity and community. Our unit entitled “Love Others” provides you with a downloadable PDF full of activities for you and your children and a two-part video conversation (Part 1 with Michael Washington & Part 2 with a diverse panel discussion) describing the practice.
Gordon West, President/Founder