PUZZLED - 2

I am intrigued by issues related to lack of unity within the Body of Christ. I think because I have felt it, participated in it, and even instigated it. I want study this so I can learn to respond differently.

I have discussed differentness, but I don't think differentness is a justification for lack of unity, even though we often cite it as a causation. My daughter and I are different in many ways. She is Hot Topic and I am Liz Claiborne. She is a night person and I am a morning person. She is musical and I am muzaklee challenged..lol. People drain her...people energize me. She doesn't like crowds and for me, the bigger the crowd the better. She has a great memory and I...wait...what was I talking about?? She likes modern and I like traditional. She wants to travel the world and I want to read about the world. But our differentnesses have opened up doors to each of us that the other would not have entered, if we hadn't celebrated and embraced our differentness. We truly enjoy the differentnesses in each other.

I am reading THE UNITY FACTOR:Developing a Healthy Church Leadership Team by Larry W. Osborne. Osborne has this to say about unity:

1. "...just spending extra time together builds unity...when people increase the amount of time they spend together, there will be a corresponding increase in their regard and appreciation for one another."
2. "common points of reference...[provide] a common vocabulary and a set of shared experiences from which to draw."
3. "Third, praying together promotes harmony. There is something about coming before our heavenly Father that dissipates spiritual sibling rivalries...'Friends discuss, strangers argue.' "

Simple, yet some good checks for me to monitor in myself. Who am I drawing toward and who am I withdrawing from? Is either necessary or prudent? How am I praying? About someone(s) or for him (them)? Am I celebrating the differences in my Christian siblings or resenting those differences? Do I take a superior posture or a servant posture?

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.-Psalm 133:1