Monday - It's Hard to Be Unified

Philippians 2:1–2 - If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

Let's be honest – unity is hard.

It's hard in a marriage. It's hard in a family. And yes, it's hard in a church.

Unity is hard because it involves people… and people are, well, people. It's easy to love people in general. It's a lot harder to love the specific person who sits in "your" pew, parks in "your" spot, or disagreed with "your" idea.

Paul wouldn't let it go.

Read Philippians 2:1–2 again and notice how much Paul emphasizes unity. Likeminded. The same love. One accord. One mind. He says the same thing four different ways in a single sentence.

Unity isn't a side issue in the church. It isn't an "extra" that's nice to have if we can get it. Without unity, a church can have programs, buildings, and people… but it won't have real fellowship. Unity is the soul of fellowship.

Unity leaks.

No church is automatically unified, just like no married couple automatically lives in harmony. The culture around us, the devil beneath us, and the flesh within us are always working against it.

Think about a tire with a slow leak. You don't notice it at first. It looks fine when you pull out of the driveway. But a little air escapes every day, and one morning you walk outside to a flat.

That's how unity works. It doesn't usually blow out all at once. It leaks. A little resentment here. A petty disagreement there. And over time, the unity a couple once had in their marriage, or a family once had in their home, or a congregation once had in their church begins to run out.

That's exactly what happened in Philippi. This was a great church – one Paul loved deeply. But petty disagreements had crept in, and their unity was starting to leak. You can almost hear Paul asking, "What happened? This isn't the church at Philippi I know."

Patch it before it goes flat.

The good news is that Paul didn't throw up his hands. He cracked his knuckles, said a prayer, and got to work. That's what we'll do together this week – look at why we should be unified, what unity looks like, and how we get there.

But today, start with an honest look. Is there a slow leak somewhere in your relationships? A grudge you've been nursing? A coldness toward someone that wasn't there a year ago?

Unity is hard. But it's worth fighting for.

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! – Psalm 133:1