How can you tell what unity isn't?
November 10 - 16, 2024 | Always Peachy Devotionals | Unity Week 2
Why do you think we talk about unity so often?
Maybe it feels like we talk about unity a lot because it’s an election year, but I swear that every leader who stands up to give a speech usually mentions being unified in some way. Political leaders, business leaders, organizational leaders—it’s usually the focus of most big speeches.
Probably because real unity isn’t natural. It’s something we all strive to achieve, but most of the time we can’t actually succeed. Or if we do manage to unify a group of people, that unity is often built on a foundation that won’t withstand the pressures of the world. People will unite based on political affiliation. People will unite based on religious background. People will unite based on language or region or any other means of categorization.
And, don’t get me wrong, none of those things are necessarily wrong. A group of people working together to achieve something together is the technical definition of unity, but when does unity become something more dangerous? How can you identify when a movement toward unification has turned into something else?
Unity is something that matters deeply to God, which we’ll talk about next week, but make no mistake, God cares if we are unified in His name. If we are basing our unity in anything else, I’m not sure it’s real unity. It certainly won’t last.
So before we move forward to talk about why unity matters to God, let’s use this week to talk about what unity isn’t. Sure, people can work together and be unified in a common goal, but where is the line between unity and totalitarianism? What is the line between unity and groupthink?
From what I’ve read of Scripture, I think we can narrow it down a bit. Because before we can truly understand unity, it’s vital to understand what unity isn’t.
Monday - Not being free to ask questions (Mark 4:10)
Tuesday - Not being free to disagree (Philippians 3:15-16)
Wednesday - Not being free to make your own choice (Joshua 24:15)
Thursday - Placing all authority in a human leader (1 Timothy 2:5-6)
Friday - Finding your identity in group approval (Acts 19:32)
Beware any group that requires you to compromise your convictions in order to fit in. Run away from any community that refuses to let you think for yourself. Flee from any movement that replaces individual responsibility with communal dependency.
Throughout history, whenever you see governments or bodies of authority exercising extreme control over their people, you’re going to find a lack of freedom. And whenever you find a lack of freedom, you’re going to find the enemy in power.
Our enemy is all about control. He wants to manipulate and scheme his way into tricking you into destroying your life. The enemy wants to keep us bound up in guilt and shame, focused on our sin and our failures and the sins and failures of those around us.
Jesus came for freedom. He came to our world, lived a perfect life, and died so that you and I can be set free from death, from sin’s power, and from the influence of the enemy.
Period.
But since we all still have our human natures, it’s not so easy to turn over our in-born need to control things. We all have this mental default that tells us we can’t trust anyone, including Jesus. We can’t trust God. We can’t let Him take the full weight of our lives and our shame and our guilt. Surely we have to add something to it.
Religious experts in the early church loved to spread this lie, and to be honest, my friends, not much has changed in 2,000 years. Spiritual leaders and authorities still try to add to what Jesus did. But what Scripture says in Galatians 5:1 holds true.
Basically, Jesus set us free, so stay that way! And that’s our memory verse for this week. It’s an important one that we all need to keep in our pockets whenever we feel the need to be perfect or perform to a certain standard the world expects arises in our hearts.
Real unity doesn’t come from being the same as everyone around you. It comes from knowing who Jesus is and choosing to follow Him.
No earthly community has the authority to control the way you think. The enemy has no authority to control your life if you belong to Jesus. You are an individual, created in God’s image, and you are free to make your own choice.
Praying for you all this week, my friends.
Hugs!
Amy
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