Lessons from the Road
The Psalms of ascent in the Hebrew Bible were road songs sung by pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem for religious festivals and are found toward the back of the bible's songbook. The lyrics affirmed faith, they reminded of true truths and encouraged travelers to do the hard work of trekking onward. One of my favorites is Psalm 133. The first line reads:
How good and how pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity.
That really is true. Unity is so delightful when in the midst of it, but it’s also fragile and these days seems to be under assault on several fronts. Divisions occur over the smallest of matters, not just the big philosophical issues we face. More than any time I can recall people seem on edge, looking for a chance to growl a bit, or a lot.
Imagine the many ways traveling Jews might get sideways with one another. The pace is too slow or the camp too noisy or someone ate my matzo. So singing this song pulled folks up short and reminded them there is another way. And this was no easy journey. That means hanging together was essential both for survival as well as helping them arrive in good spirits, ready to meet with God.
Last week I returned from an eleven day bike tour in the Canadian Selkirk region of BC. Each day the five of us rode and ate and camped and gawked at God showing off in the scenery. Huge climbs and cold lakes tested our legs and lungs. Each part of every day carried chances for us to get chapped at one of the others over some perceived slight like the pace is too fast or who chose this campsite or did someone eat my Snickers?
So we worked at keeping close accounts with one another. A trip like this tests the body and spirit daily, and everyone does get road weary, so encouragement to stay unified was essential. It seemed like we took turns at being a bit discouraged by the grind, but then an encourager would rise up. Each of us had the opportunity to uplift the others, and we all benefitted. Unity was the result of us looking out for one another. As we debriefed the trip, general agreement was had that we blended well and overcame much and had a wonderful adventure.
A few days into the ride we stood in a Nelson BC bike shop, and behind the counter was a sign that read “DO HARD THINGS”. Near it hung another, “BE KIND”. I kind of like these two together. Worthy guardrails with life lived in the middle. We are almost never wrong to seek out hard things to do, whether something physical or with your spouse or in your job. But remembering to be kind throughout the process is critical towards having a life well lived as well as maintaining unity with the folks you are doing life with.
The Psalmist doesn't call for uniformity. Uniformity is static while unity is dynamic. Uniformity stifles initiative but unity celebrates it. Uniformity demands echo-chamber thinking as opposed to unity making room for different views on life and faith. So many groups have confused this point. Unity in the midst of diversity in ways to see and live life is fun, and it takes hard work to maintain.
So, for the ancient Jews traveling to Jerusalem for a faith festival and for a collection of old chuckleheads on bikes, working through difficulties and moving toward unity is both good and pleasant. Here are three ideas for building better unity in whatever setting you find yourself.
Work to build a culture of unity. Have standing together as your expectation from the beginning of any project or disagreement or challenge, rather than a vague hope for unity as one of the outcomes ... after you get your way. This calls for compromise.
Act as a unifier, not a divider. The lowest common denominator in a group is griping, moaning, back-biting, one-upping (you get the point). Choose paths that bring people together. Be the one to find places of agreement then work on the rest. You carry the power to redirect conversations toward helping unity grow, rather than letting the negative voices hold the floor. This will take some time.
Build coalitions. Find allies who are good at building others up and hang with them, then add to the tribe. Encouragement toward unity is contagious. Be a carrier of that virus and spread it recklessly. Overwhelm dividers with love and bring them closer into the group. This will call for courage.
Paul echoes the Psalm in Ephesians 4:3 when he says,
Be careful to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace
What I get out of this line is that unity is indeed fragile and we need to be careful, diligent, focused on keeping it strong. It also alludes to the enemies of unity that reside in any group. "Be careful" "Be diligent" "Pay attention to" pulls us out of the dreamworld of wishful thinking and places us firmly at work making unity a reality.
On day six of the trip we faced a really steep and miles-long pass. We rolled out of New Denver toward Kaslo at dawn and immediately began to climb over a switchbacked pass that rose several thousand feet through deep forest interrupted by stunning vistas of the surrounding mountains. While we had to dig pretty deep, we chose to ride together, and with little traffic we talked and laughed and geared down to our lowest setting and just spun the pedals. Near the top the final ramp clocked out at 24% incline. Now, that's just rude. When we gathered at the summit, soaked with sweat and panting in the cold morning sun, we lavished in a sweet sense of unity. It was both good and pleasant.
In every part of our life with others, let's be known as people of unity, standing up to bullies who would divide us, and working hard to both grow and preserve it. Work, to be sure, but worthy work, for sure. Let's go!
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and a couple of funnies for the week...
A guy spots a sign outside a house that reads "Talking Dog for Sale." Intrigued, he walks in.
"So what have you done with your life?" he asks the dog.
"I've led a very full life," says the dog. "I lived in the Alps rescuing avalanche victims. Then I served my country in Iraq. And now I spend my days reading to the residents of a retirement home."
The guy is flabbergasted. He asks the dog's owner, "Why on earth would you want to get rid of an incredible dog like that?"
The owner says, "Because he's a liar! He never did any of that!"
__________
Flying home after visiting her daughter in England, a woman arranged to have her husband meet her plane at the Vancouver, B.C., airport. This meant a stop at the border crossing between the United States and Canada, where her husband was asked, "What is your reason for entering the country?" and "How long are you planning to stay?"
He replied that he was picking his wife up at the airport after her trip to England.
Without missing a beat, the guard asked two more questions in the same business-like tone: "Is the house clean?" and "Are there fresh flowers on the table?"