Good morning.  Today, I would like to bring you a post from our archives.  This is a post I wrote nearly two years ago in August of 2014.  I trust you will enjoy it.   ~ Stephen

“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!”  Psalm 133:1

Unity is a big deal.  It is a beautiful thing.  David was right when he wrote that unity is “good and pleasant.”   Unity is when a group of people is of one mind.  It is when they have the same overarching goals.  It is when they come from the same worldview.  Unity is so important because a united group of people can accomplish much more than a fractured group.  I believe that unity in the church is of utmost importance.  FBC can accomplish infinitely more for the glory of God if we are united.  Together, we can do so much more than we can individually.

Unfortunately, unity is not common in christian circles.  It is hard to obtain and even harder to maintain.  It requires disciplined work.  Too often, selfishness and sin come like thieves and steal unity from our churches.  Sadly, many churches are ineffective and useless because there is not ‘one mind.’  There is no unity.  These churches are like cats chasing their own tail.  They are spending lots of time and energy, but not actually going anywhere.

The Problem of Making Assumptions

Unity has many enemies and all of them are sin:  selfishness, unkind words, anger, envy, and more.  I am convinced, however, that the number one enemy of unity in churches is the Problem of Making Assumptions.  Christians love to make assumptions.  The problem is that our assumptions are destroying our churches.  An assumption is when I choose to believe something about you that may or may not be true.  I do not have all (or any) of the facts.  So, I just choose to believe whatever I want.  The problem is that most of the time, we make negative assumptions.  Our default habit is to assume the worst in each situation.

A Case Study

Let me give you an example of how this works.  Let’s say that you walk past me at church without speaking to me.  Since I expected you to speak to me, I am now trying to understand why you did not.  I start thinking through possible reasons for your ‘snub.’  This is what travels silently through my mind:

“Why didn’t they speak to me?  They must be angry at me.  I wonder if they are upset at me for not giving their child a part in the Music Camp musical.  I’ll bet that’s what it is.  I can’t believe they would get so upset over such a small thing.  Don’t they know how hard it is to choose the parts for Music Camp each year.  Maybe if they volunteered to help they would understand better.  They are being so petty and immature.  It makes me so angry.”

The problem with this is that I have no idea why you did not speak to me.  It could be that you were distracted with thoughts of sick family members at home.  It could be that you were looking for someone else that you urgently needed to speak with.  It could be that you had to go to the bathroom.  It could be that you were late for an appointment.  The point is – it could be anything.  But, I chose to assume one of the worst possible options.  I chose to create this elaborate story.  In reality, I honestly have no idea why you did not speak to me.

Before you come down too hard on me, understand this.  I believe situations like this happen all the time.  People do things everyday that upset us.  We are left with the questions of ‘why?’  Why did they say that to me?  Why did they not return my phone call?  Why did they say ‘no’ to my request?  Why are they helping this other person when they said they could not help me?  Why do they let their children run crazy throughout the church?  Why did they not come to orchestra practice?  Why do they always come late?

The Solution:  Assume the Best

The solution to this is simple – yet difficult:  Assume the Best.

If we want Unity in our church, we must develop the unique ability to Assume the Best.

Assumptions are a choice.  We can choose to assume the worst or we can choose to assume the best.  Choose to assume that they spoke unkind words to you because they’ve had a bad week.  Their kids have been sick.  They are having financial struggles at home.  They are just going through a difficult season of life and those unkind words slipped out before they could stop them.

If we, Faith Baptist Church, will commit to “Assuming the Best” in all situations, our church will overflow with love and unity.  We will be of ‘one mind. ‘  We will be able to accomplish so much for the glory of God.

Let’s start working on this today.

Happy Friday!

Stephen

PS – We are having a Men’s Choir in our 10:30am service on Father’s Day (June 19) this year.  All men are invited to join us.  We will have one rehearsal on Wednesday night, June 15th, at 8pm, in our auditorium.  Don’t miss it!