Why Unity Is an Inside Job

It’s too easy to point out the wrong in the world. So where does that leave hope for unity on this planet?Coming up with dirt on someone is not only easy, it can become an obsession.I will not mention names, but holding up a “life-like” decapitated bloody head of a U.S. president during a video and photo shoot as a person who is pretty much a mainstream comedienne — not a good idea — and an easy, quick news story for pretty much anyone in the world to share by tweet, instagram, blog, or with the resources to do so, broadcast on a 24-hr cable/stream global news network.So, I’ve made an effort, although there has been a strong temptation and I’ve also failed at times, to not obsess or comment on the fact that the aforementioned person’s error was majorly significant, and to not explain why so.You Pharisees are so careful to clean the outside of a cup and the dish, but inside you are still filthy — full of greed and wickedness! (Luke 11:39) We all contain some residue of wrongdoing, as stated in the Life Recovery Bible devotional I’m reading this morning.When we admit this to God, to ourselves, and to others, we will experience the cleansing of humility and forgiveness. And here is where it gets really important, especially considering the times we live in. Then we will have a life that can bring refreshment to others.It’s times like this, times like the morning after the latest attacks on innocents in London, that I believe it’s best we begin with prayer and move towards solution as quickly as possible.

God, grant me the Serenityto accept the things I cannot change.The courage to change the things I can,and the wisdom to know the difference.Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time;Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace;Taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is;Not as I would have it;Trusting that You will make all things rightif I surrender to Your will;So that I may be reasonably happy in this lifeand supremely happy with You forever in the next.AMEN--Reinhold Niebuhr

How then do we move together in unity towards solution? First, as individuals, we begin seeking God for answers, whether as a non-believer who first asks Him into their heart, or as a believer, follower of Jesus, who asks Him to still their heart and give direction.Unity or revival first comes from people who have been transformed from the inside themselves. To expect others to automatically fall in line with your idea of what God wants to do in all of our lives is too much to ask.Changing those things in our life that we can change involves taking steps to clean the inside of our ‘cup,’ our heart. We must begin by turning our eyes away from everyone around us, including those we blame for our condition in life or those we condemn to make our wrongs seem less in comparison. Then we can get back to looking within ourselves.Once we come to a place of unity in prayer and thought then we can begin to shine together.If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight is shining on you. (Luke 11:36)[ictt-tweet-blockquote hashtags="" via=""]Once we come to a place of unity in prayer and thought then we can begin to shine together.[/ictt-tweet-blockquote]

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