Unity in the Church

Quote of the Day: "In order to have a winner, the team must have a feeling of unity; every player must put the team first — ahead of personal glory." - Paul 'Bear' Bryant

If you don't know who Paul 'Bear' Bryant is, we can't be friends. 

One of the best football coaches of all time. A genuine great man. He laid a foundation for Alabama football that continues till today. He sought to make his players better people.

To the quote. A team must have unity to reach it's potential and it is the same with a church.

One key aspect is putting the good of the team, the church, above your own personal glory and rights. Team first. In the context of the church, put God's glory first. Be OK with having other people receive credit. Embrace humility.

News and Culture: Unity is a little like exercise: A great idea, a noble idea, but hard, and all too easy to forego. Yet history tells us that America works best when just enough of us see politics as a mediation of differences rather than as total, unrelenting warfare. From the article- Want Unity For Real? Then America Needs to Get Back to Facts

https://time.com/5936862/america-unity-evidence-reason/

 

Exercise is hard work! Weight lifting, running. Takes time and effort to up to a good level.

But you only reap the benefits if you persist and keep working on it. You lose ground if you stop going forward. Your health requires ongoing effort just to maintain. Unity requires ongoing effort to maintain. Without maintenance it begins to deteriorate.

Working through differences is a real chore. Not fun but necessary.

 

Chloe's Corner: What You Can't Say

 

Living Theology: Why is Unity so Important?

God is one, we are one. Unity is the eternal reality that we strive for in the now.

The relationship between people in the church is part of what draws others to God. We have a special, supernatural love that connects us and motivates us to work on our differences with grace.

Why so hard? Sin! Selfishness, self-centeredness, thinking about our own needs and desires first. Too many of us live as if this life is all there is and all that matters. The family of God doesn't have the place in our hearts and minds that it does in the heart and mind of God. We aren't willing to sacrifice and work for the church the way that Jesus did and still does.

How do we live it? 

Genuinely put God first.

Make real efforts to consider others better than yourself. 

Serve others. Don't fight for your rights but give them to God.

Live with eternal values. Not for today but for eternity.