“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity.” (Psalm 133:1)

The first and last verses of this three-verse psalm are very interesting when considered together. The first verse states how pleasant unity is and the third suggests that it is the root of the Lord’s blessing of life.

Obviously, a harmonious God who dwells in perfect harmony within Himself understands the benefits of living in perfect unity. It is one of the greatest failures of humanity and began not long after man was ushered out of the garden. Reading the first few chapters of Genesis will convince anyone that harmony was hard to come by. The truth is, after thousands of years of trying we have made no progress. Hatred, jealousy, envy, selfishness, and more keep us from getting along in a harmonious fashion.

Sometimes we see it for just a few moments. It may come in the middle of tragedy or calamity. In the interest of life, we may pause our petty disagreements long enough to survive. But we have no lasting interest in unity unless it means that everyone else agrees with me. Our country, like the world, is divided. Our communities and even our families. Broken homes are at an all-time high. Lawsuits, civil disobedience, mob behavior, senseless killings and the approach of anarchy are all around us.

Every day we hear and see the disaster that is the result of disunity. God praises unity and Jesus prayed for it but we, we humans, we want none of it because we think it would take away our right to be an individual me.

Task for Today: Work for unity, and I will assure you that the correct place to start is at your own front door. For the sake of the gospel agree with your adversary, turn the cheek, resist anger. Learn to get along; to let others win. As much as is within your power, we are told, we should strive to live in a peaceful relationship. That’s a part of unity. Wouldn’t you like a day that was good and pleasant? Start with being in unity with God’s will.