The Dynamics of Unity

 

In Genesis 11, the whole earth had one language and one speech, and God Himself said that because the people were one, nothing they proposed to do would be withheld from them. Their unity was expressed in two ways: a language and a speech. The language is the manner in which unity speaks; the speech is the message it communicates — the vision it presents. The voice of unity is expressed by one language and one speech.

Unity always begins with an invitation: “Come.” It acknowledges the limitation of self, recognises the value of others, and is quick to involve people. It is “Come, let us…” — not "come, and I will....", not "come, so you will...". It prioritises the collective over individualism. It encourages participation and partnership. It is the language of partnership, not abdication; dependence with responsibility.

The speech of unity is consistent: “Let us make… let us build… let us go down…” A united people always speak creation and productivity. Their vision in Genesis 11 was to build a city and a tower reaching the heavens. A united team aims high, but their error was that their vision was outside the will of God.

Unity always produces results — God came down to see the city and the tower they had built. However, the sustainability of any result depends on alignment to God's will. If your vision is against the will of God, it may stand for a while, but it will eventually crumble. God will always have the final say.

Unity will also be tested. God confused their language so they could no longer understand one another’s speech. The test of unity is always at the level of language. People may still have a speech, message or vision but the speech becomes multiple rather than  one. This happens because their language is no longer one. When language gets attack, understanding becomes compromised. People may still want the same thing but want it in different ways. Disunity happens when there is more than one vision — division.

You can discern disunity the moment “come” disappears. When there is no invitation to participate, or no response to participation, unity is under attack. When individuality begins to be projected over the collective, unity is under attack.

So protect the language. Protect partnership. Protect togetherness. Protect understanding. Be intentional about recognising value in others. Be intentional about participation. 

Unity and alignment to God's will produces longevity of impact.