Have you ever heard of the old adage:
“United we stand, divided we fall”?
The bible has a similar stance regarding unity.
In Mark 3:24-25, Jesus says:
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.
Yup, you’re right! This post is about unity and why it is important in our friendships & relationships with people – whether it is in a church, family or work setting.
God sometimes speaks to me in pictures and this morning, he gave me two images which I drew out in my computer.
This is the first one:
In this image, we see two people (soldiers), facing each other in a fighting stance. They’re having their shields up, swords drawn out- facing each other in hostility. However, both are wearing similar armor – showing that they’re actually soldiers of the same army. We see their thoughts regarding each other to be negative. The soldier on the left is thinking that the other is a liar, pretending all the time and doesn’t care about his well being. The soldier on the right is also thinking similarly negative thoughts. He is thinking that the other is a fool who will easily betray him, using him only for benefits. So basically, both soldiers don’t trust the other and regards each other as enemies – even though they are in the same army! So they have their guards up, facing each other due to lack of trust and are basically ready to fight each other.
An important thing to note in this image is that even as they focus on each other as the enemy, there are arrows flying at them from an outside enemy – that they are blind to. They have turned their back on the “REAL” enemy and were completely vulnerable, open targets.
This is what happens to us when we listen to or believe in accusations, lies and negative things about our friends/family. Eventhough we’re supposed to be on the same side – fighting side by side… we turn our back to the real enemy when we allow accusations and lies to divide us. The enemy’s plan to have victory over us is by dividing us. So he sends these accusations and lies our way. If we foolishly listen to the enemy’s voice, dwell on these accusations/lies & believe them, we end up like these two soldiers. We focus on each other’s negative traits, we’re ready to tear each other up due to our mistrust and by doing so – we have turned our back to the real enemy who should be getting our focus & attention. We have become vulnerable and blind to the enemy’s attacks. It’s a dangerous place to be in because we will end up getting hit by his attacks – ultimately leading to our defeat.
In a real battle this is something you should NOT do!
You should NOT turn your back on the enemy and you should NOT take your attention away from the enemy.
You have to be on your guard AGAINST the enemy without giving into distractions.
The next image I got was a battle strategy that you may have sometimes seen in movies.
This is where you trust your fellow soldiers to guard your back, so you turn your back to them and give your full attention to fighting the enemy you are facing – while the other soldiers will do the same! This requires great mutual trust & faith in each other. Both have to be confident in each other’s ability to fight skillfully as well as in the love & trust they have for each other. They have to be fully confident that the other person has their back!
When we are full of love towards the people in our lives, we will be like this. We will not listen to the accusations and lies that the enemy will try to get us to believe because we TRUST in the ones we love. So instead of turning our back to the real enemy to fight each other, we will be fully aware of our enemy and together will be able to fight against the real enemy. In this case, our backs are guarded – we’re not open and vulnerable targets to the enemy attacks.
Now imagine, two more joining these two soldiers. Now four people have their back to each other – making a circle – facing the enemy. They have more manpower to fight the attacks of the enemy coming from various angles. The more people that are tied together in love & trust to fight together like this, the stronger their defense will be against the actual enemy. Not only that, they may even be able to go on “offense” or “attack mode” without just being on “defense” mode against the enemy. That is the main reason why the enemy wants to keep us deceived with his lies and accusations – so that we won’t get to that powerful place of being able to attack in “offense” mode. He knows that if we get there, he is sure to be defeated.
So this is my message for you today:
Who are the people in your life that love you dearly and you dearly love them back, but you are starting to doubt them? You are getting bombarded with negative thoughts or other people would comment negative things about them… but you KNOW them well enough to know these are lies… yet you’re starting to “wonder” whether you should be on your guard… seeds of mistrust are starting to get planted in you regarding them…
BE ON YOUR GUARD friend.
These friendships/relationships might be the very ones that you need in your life.
They might be the ones who can really love you out of your mess.
They might be the ones who can be great blessings to you.
United with them, you can do great things!
That is the very reason the enemy is attacking these friendships and relationships with his lies and accusations. DON’T listen to it!
If these people have shown you their love, invested in your life and have been there for you many times… they are not your enemy!
Recognize who the real enemy is and DON’T turn your back on him!
Remember:
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.
“United we stand, divided we fall”
Be UNITED. Be in PEACE and HARMONY.
Fight the real enemy with love & trust that you show to your loved ones!
The victory will surely be yours!
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