The Power Of Unity..

I vividly remember a basketball game that our team played against a top Harare team (in the mid-80’s) and which we lost.  What sticks in my mind is not so much the fact that we lost, but the example of our opponents.  They were a team that were fit, skillful, hard working, focused but above all they possessed this amazing quality of UNITY.

The player who missed a shot was encouraged to try again,  the player who went after a loose ball but lost it was praised for his effort, when substituted the outgoing player gave the incoming one a ‘high five’ and a slap on the back.  These were just some expressions of unity, teamwork  and friendship.

Their unity was based upon a few key beliefs that were boldly evident..

Ø    They were there to win the game.  Defeat was not an option.

Ø    Each player deserved to be on the court. Each was there by choice.

Ø    A deep respect for one another.  They genuinely liked each other.

Ø    The other team was to be defeated. They were playing against a team not each other.

Ø    The belief that they were the best team.  The team got the glory not the individual.

Ø    They would win because they played the best game.  They would play according to the rules and win. They demonstrated integrity of sportsmanship.

Unity is not that we are identical or sing the same tune.  Difference, uniqueness does not mean disunity. I guess that’s why the Apostle Paul told the Corinthian church to consider the example of the body, which is a unit, and yet not all parts of the body are the same.. an eye has no capacity to smell, neither does a foot have the ability to hear.  

Unity operates at different levels and each level is the platform to move to the next..  A break in unity cannot be repaired at the level it occurs but rather at the level beneath.  Unity is a journey not a destination.

Unity starts with the individual.. Personal unity.   The Apostle James says that a double-minded person is unstable in all their ways. (James 1:8).