Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! Psalm 133:1
Have you ever taken time to reflect on our world and how disjointed we are in our interactions, whether it be family, church, business etc. As I sit back and evaluate my own interactions it is clear that I have much improving to consider before I am able to begin to have a truly unifying life. Spending time in the word, thinking and praying as well as listening to some minister I respect greatly has lead me to some key points to living a life that unifies. Are these the only areas we can work within to unify? Absolutely not! These are areas I would like to discuss because I feel God has placed these points in my heart and mind to relay to others who are willing to listen. There are five areas I would like to write about today, but understand as well these points being discussed are not listed in any particular order of importance. We are all at different places and these topics will affect each of us at different levels in our life.
First, I have mentioned this before in my blogs before, but will repeat it to refresh memories and first time reader it will give you a little insight into who writes this blog. I am professional soccer coach and have been involved in soccer as a player or as coach since I was about 8 year olds. In soccer coaching circles we realize that soccer is not a coach’s game and therefore we should focus our practice sessions on the being player focused and not coach centered. This thought process is applicable in area of unifying lives with Jesus. We should attempt daily to walk in a manner that our life is not self-centered, but centered on others. We must realize that it is more important to place others needs above our needs. As Jesus starts his ministry he selects his disciples he comes to two brothers and said, Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him. Matthew 19-20. As you can see these men turned their backs and dropped what they were doing to follow Jesus. This shows how they moved themselves from the center and put the needs of others ahead. In our lives today we can do little things such as seeing the last item on the shelf that you have longed for months, but another customer is eyeing the exact item. Instead grabbing the item first you offer the other person the opportunity to have to item. How about you have had a very tedious and blusterous week at home and work? Your wife has had a similar type of week. Instead of you looking for the quite time first you take the kids and give your wife some time to recoup from the difficulties of the week.
Second, for those of us who have kids, for those of us who are in some sort leadership position or simply know there are people who look up to you as a role model. We must live by the phrase do as I do. Our actions are critical to the unification process of bring people to God and lets the light of God shine through us. We can’t sit in front of the television five or six hours a day, but limit our kids to one-hour of time because you say the watching that much television is not good. Are we going to make mistakes? For Sure! Are we going to fall short of perfection? No doubt we are! Those reasons are not excuses to attempt to live a life that can bring others to the Lord our God. Think about God sending his perfect son on earth to lead us with his perfect actions. So we do have an example we can all respect and attempt to model our lives after such perfection.
Third, Let’s look at our speech. This element of our life is so dangerous or as I would rather look it in the fashion of being such a positive. Why because we can never take back words we say. Yes, we can apologize and that relives some of the pain. Once the words are spoken they become etched in the minds and hearts of those who hear the words. In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. James 3:5. Please take time to mediate on this verse from James. In this we find we must not be afraid to speak the truth in love, but we must consider how we deliver our words. My wife is on me all the time about my delivery. I am the type of person I search for the truth and I want everyone else to search as well. So if means speaking things that are difficult to hear but need to be said I will say them. My response to my wife is the truth is truth and people need to know the truth. When speaking the truth we must understand people are at different levels of understanding so yes speak the truth, but speak it in such a way that people will hear as well as understand. I will say this; my wife has helped me greatly in how I convey information. She has been such a blessing! As much as possible use your speech to uplift because words can open the door into a person heart.
Fourth, Forgiveness is something that as people we find difficult to give freely as we should. In our world of holding people accountable for every action in life we find t forgiveness is not enacted as often as God would have us forgive. To forgive can be a daunting task because we may have been truly broken by the actions of others. Being unforgiving does not create a unifying action, but instead it creates a destructive action. Without forgiveness in our lives we become angry, we become hardened and cynical which leads our lives into areas of not others before us, not using our tongue wisely and our actions reflect our anger. Once we become a forgiving people we take our eyes off of ourselves and we can become a unifier.
The fifth and final area I would like to discuss is moral compromise. Before discussion in this areas proceeds it has to be clear the morals I speak about are all based on the word of God. I say compromise is important in our lives because it shows people we are willing to listen and attempt to understand their viewpoints. Just remember the smallest actions lead to larger actions! I say to you all do not compromise anything that will cause you to be making a decision that begins to cause separation from God. Do you see in our world today the fallen, leaders sports figures, ministers and the broken families? Why? Because compromise has lead to the large fall. I am not here to point a finger at anyone because I would have to point as many fingers at myself.
As all can read I am talking about being a unifier try to create as well as achieve a life that is a unifying life. I will say we must never stop working in these areas of our life because that is the only way we can be a unifier of people into a relationship with God.
Grace and Peace to you
Rod
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