Unity is strength... when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved is a quote by Mattie Stepnick. Throughout time, historically, in wars, in natural disasters, and during celebrations, when people come together there is a power, which we commonly call unity. In this conversation we are going to highlight the characteristics and the benefits of unity.
Genesis 11: 3 (NIV )They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”
8 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city.
So what are the characteristics of unity. The first one we will look at, is “oneness":. The Webster Dictionary describes unity as a state of being one. It also says it is the absence of diversity. In the world see this oneness is demonstrated in sport teams. They wear the same uniform to show unity. They are different people coming together, and to the onlookers they all look the same. Even their fans will wear their teams’ colours to show their support and unity. In our text, we see this exemplified. We see this common theme of “oneness” in armies, armed forces eg police, emergency services, in schools. They become the distinguishable factor between one team from other. It makes the wearers feel proud about their team, their own part they play within the team, and it also gives an imposing effect on others. It says in our text of study that because of their oneness nothing they put their mind to would fail. There is power in oneness.
Another characteristic of unity is “ like-mindedness". Like-mindedness means of the same mind or habit of thought. When people are like-minded, the have similar opinions or taste. These people have the same purpose, same ideas, and often in agreement. We see that I put text that the people all agreed to build this tower to reach to heaven. They all thought it was a great idea, and no-one disagreed. The bible in Matthew 18:19, Jesus reminds us of the power of agreement. He said where two or more agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done. We also see this demonstrated in Acts 4:34, where because of the power of agreement, it produced wealth and terminates hardship. The Bible said neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the money of the things that were sold. I Corinthians 1:10 (NIV) says 10 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters,[a] in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. Paul here emphasises on the need for one mindedness, and of one though in order to have unity in the church.
In our text oneness was demonstrated in having one language. This is another characteristic of unity. When everyone speaks the same language there is no language barrier. Language barrier makes it challenging. If message is not being fully comprehended there is confusion and low or zero understanding. I have been in situations were the person I was speaking to spoke little to no English. We would stare at each there with blank looks on our face. The conversation is slow and a lot of assumptions can be made. This is not the case in our text of study. God saw and said that” if as one people speaking the same language, nothing will be impossible for them.
The last characteristic that we will discuss is purpose. When a group of people have a common purpose we see unity. Purpose can be described as intention, resolution or determination. It is an action in course of execution. When you have a purpose it is like having a mission, an end goal or agenda. The people in our text had one purpose. They wanted to build the tower so that cauls reach heaven. Their purse…..was to make a name for themselves and no-one else objected to this idea. It is easy to see unity where there is a common purpose, or desired end game for the people.
Where there is oneness, like-mindedness, one language and one purpose we see there unity.
What then are the benefits of unity. Unity creates the experience of co-operation, increases enthusiasm for the task and makes the atmosphere empowering. This is exactly what it gave the people in our text.
In John 17:21, the Saviour prayed for unity among His disciples: “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us”. believers as demonstrated in Ephesians 4:13.We are also reminded of this unity in The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the trinity. This trinity is the source of all power, and this gospel creates the unity between God the Father, our saviour and us the
The text shows that where there was unity, nothing would be restrained from them. This means, they become more powerful and unstoppable. And because of such power it then forced God to pose confusion amongst them so that their goal would not be accomplished. This brings us to confidently conclude there has to be disunity in order for incompletion, abandonment or abortion of the mission. I therefore encourage us as a church, as a nation, as humankind, as a family unit, as married couples, let us remember, that all that is needed to disqualify us for our purpose, mission and calling is disunity, not just in actions, but in mind and thought. And that with unity, nothing that we plan to do shall be impossible. Are you seeking to do the impossible, or have been finding a task too hard or too heavy to carry out on your own…….. get into unity. Find some like-mined (in faith God-fearing, Holy Ghost filled sisters) who speak the word and are Bible readers to ally with you in the power of agreement, and God will make it possible. Be encouraged.
Yours In Unity
Mabble
Women of Reverence welcomes Mabble Munyimani as a guest contributor for our theme.
Mabble is a mum to 3 boys and wife to loving husband, Martin. When her first child was younger and was starting out in school, Mabble found that she needed more parenting solutions that would help her. She was after something not just different, but also a method that would help her bring out the best in what her children had within themselves, without feeling like there is something wrong with them or that they needed fixing.
Mabble was after a parenting style that would empower her children and leave her, the mum feeling empowered, happy and confident with her abilities as a parent. And when she couldn’t find it, she and her husband went onto create and design the environment that suited their children, rather than make their children fit into environments that devalues and suppresses their natural abilities. Mabble believes children are born with everything they need for life. She is a firm subscriber of the Bible verse, 2 Peter 1;3 By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. And Romans 11:29, For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
Mabble believes uncovering and nurturing our children’s natural gifts is one of the parental responsibilities. We are to empower our children and collaborate with them along with the relevant people to develop these gifts. Children cannot achieve it alone.
Mabble has trained in the mental health field and has worked as a qualified mental health nurse with for over 15 years. She worked with families and children who experience life challenges in school, in the home and in various stages of development. Through her experience, she has identified that lack of expression and understanding of the child’s strengths and abilities, largely contributes to some children’s frustrations. This can be a contributory factor to some mental illnesses e.g. anxiety and depression.
Having lived in 3 continents, born in Zimbabwe Africa, studied, and lived in the UK for 12 years and now living in Australia, Mabble has acquired insights, experience and exposure to different cultures and has developed an understanding that allows her to empathise with the families she works with. She is on a mission to activate the superpowers of all family members to achieve the family dream! And she does this by supporting parents on how to bring the joy back into parenting.
Now a family strategist, Mabble specialises in strength based learning providing a holistic approach to learning. Prioritising the learning style/preference of the child and their areas of interest to maximise learning and engagement is her recipe. She teaches and empowers parents to provide environments that promote wellbeing and build confidence, resilience, self identity and life skills in children so that child does not just survive in life, but thrive.