Psalm 133

Psalm 133
How wonderful and pleasant it is 
     when brothers live together in harmony!
For harmony is a precious as the anointing oil 
     that was poured over Aaron's head, 
     that ran down his beard and onto the border of his robe.
Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon 
     that falls on the mountains of Zion. 
     And there the LORD has pronounced his blessing, 
     even life everlasting.
--New Living translation

This psalm is about unity and harmony. You will notice the first verse talks about "brothers" living together in harmony and how good that is. "Brothers" indicates family but it also applies to the Christian community--the family of God. Then look at the words "live together." It's one thing to be in harmony with an acquaintance that you don't really have much contact with and quite another thing when you live or work or serve together. The better we know people and the more we're around one another we become aware that we all have our quirks and flaws. The test of true love and unity is when we maintain harmony even after we know one another well. You know the saying, "A true friend is one who knows your faults and loves you anyway!"

The metaphors the writer uses--the precious and fragrant oil used to anoint Aaron the priest and the refreshing dew indicate that true harmony has to come from above--from God Himself. We are all selfish by nature, and we're not able to sustain unity without the presence and work of the Holy Spirit within us.

As I think about unity in the church, I can remember many instances of disunity. I'm sorry to say that often the negative things are what sticks in our memories. When someone in the congregation is disgruntled for some reason, it puts a dark cloud over the worship service. It seems that the Holy Spirit can't or won't let us worship or even pray freely when there's trouble in the "family." Everyone is just a little on edge.

And so, what does unity look like in the church? Well, it's NOT uniformity or conformity. A sports team can wear uniforms and conform to the rules of the game but not be in harmony at all! So it is in the church. I believe unity in the church arises out of a love and devotion to God and a shared vision of how we can worship and serve Him. I also think it comes when we can look at others the way God sees them. We are all individuals for whom Christ died. We were all in need of a Savior when Jesus found us.

Let us each vow before the Lord that we will never be the cause of trouble in the church, that we'll always trust God to help us not offend one another, or harbor ill feelings toward others. Let us not be easily offended or take slights personally. May we be quick to forgive and give others benefit of the doubt. All these things can be very hard, but that's why the strength must come from above like the anointing oil and the dew!