Valuing Unity over Correctness
‘Better a dry crust in peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife’
• Proverbs 17:1
‘Better a small serving of vegetables with love than a fattened calf with hatred’
• Proverbs 15:17
One of the first lessons I learnt in marriage is the simple truth that being correct has no bearing on whether or not you are right. Just because I think the schedule I’ve set is the best one (from my perspective) doesn’t mean it’s the best one for my wife. Meaning that the desire to do what one thinks is best is not enough when one is trying to DO what is best for the marriage. That is because unity requires more that one’s perspective, it requires mutual truth and empathy for one another.
In scripture it is clear that to God, unity is a worthwhile pursuit, even over efficiency and sometimes even effectiveness. God is pleased when He sees His children united (Psalm 133) perhaps even more than our most righteous works (Isaiah 64).
One of the tensions of any community or family which seeks to move forward and grow is that every person tends to have their own view of what is important and vital. Scripture however, reminds us that within God’s sovereign will there is one blessing which we must always hold dear, the union with Christ, the Church and the eternal Kingdom which was bought for by the blood of Jesus.
Let’s strive to be a people that resist overvaluing a sense of progress and undervaluing unity. If there is unforgiveness, pain, bitterness or even misunderstanding, let our hearts be set to value unity with one another over our own desires to be correct.
May God bless us and keep us.
要重視合一過於正確
「設筵滿屋，大家相爭，不如有塊乾餅，大家相安。」 箴言17:1
「吃素菜，彼此相愛，強如吃肥牛，彼此相恨。」 箴言15:17
我在婚姻中學到的第一個功課是一個簡單的事實，即觀點正確與否與你的立場是對與否無直接關係。僅僅因為我認為我設定的行事表（從我的角度來看）是最好的並不等於它對我的妻子來說是最好的。這就是說，當一個人試圖做對婚姻最有利的事情時，只按自己認為是最好的方法去做是不夠的。這是因為合一需要的不僅僅是一個人的觀點，而是需要有相互認同的真理和對彼此有同理心。
聖經清楚地表明，對神來說，合一是值得追求的，其重要性超越做事的效率，有時甚至超越效用。神悅納祂的兒女們團結合一（詩篇133篇）甚至多於他們最公義的行為（以賽亞書64篇）。
尋求邁進和成長的群體或家庭所面對的張力之一是，每個人都對什麼是重要和至基要的事情有自己的看法。然而，聖經提醒我們，在神至高無上的旨意中，有一項我們必須永遠珍重的祝福，是與基督聯合、教會和永恆國度的合一，因這是耶穌用祂的寶血所買贖的。
讓我們努力成為一個避免高估躍進感和低估合一的重要之群體。如果有不寬恕、痛苦、辛酸甚至誤解，讓我們的心重視彼此合一過於我們自己持守正確。
願神賜福我們，保守我們。
