Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:3

Last time we saw that rather than seeking unity, we should seek love, and then love will be the key to unity. The same thing is similar for peace. When unity becomes the goal, we may end up with some kind of ceasefire, but we will never find true unity (or even real peace).

Often we confuse peace and unity. Peace does not lead to unity; unity leads to peace. When we get this backwards we end up like a church I was a part of for many years. It thought it had unity because it carefully suppressed any problems rather than dealing with them. It ended up disintegrating over time because despite the appearance of peace and unity, the people had little binding them together.

Or another way we confuse peace and unity is when there is no freedom to disagree or have personal convictions. Many cult leaders see ‘no-disagreement’ as unity, so they invoke a no “boat-rocking” policy. You even see this in churches sometimes. They mistake no-visible-dissent for “unity”. To make sure there are no dissenters usually requires that they resort to hardline control-freak tactics. This is often the backdrop for all sorts of scandals and cover-ups, not real unity.

It is so tempting to pursue peace as a means of achieving unity because we mistakenly think unity and conformity are pretty much the same thing. If you and I are Christians and our understanding of unity is askew, then we will soon be pursuing conformity and at that point control/unquestioning submission become the tools of this kind of false unity.

Conformity is not unity, nor is unity conformity. It’s not identical or similar beliefs and behaviors that unites us. It’s love that unites us, and that love leads to peace. In speaking about “a spirit of unity,” Paul wrote, “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God” (Rom 15:7). So unity is when love lifts us above our differences in order to pursue common goals for the glory of God. It never demands the casting aside of convictions or truth.

May God…give you a spirit of unity among yourselves…so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Rom 15:5-6).