#UNITE
u-nite: / verb /
- come or bring together for a common purpose or action.
- come or bring together to form a unit or a whole, especially in a political context.
- join in marriage
synonyms: unify, join, link, connect, combine, amalgamate, fuse, weld, bond, wed, marry, splice, ally, cooperate, collaborate.
antonyms: divide, split
late Middle English: from Latin unit- "joined together," from the verb unire, from unus 'one.'
How powerful people can be when they become one.
How impacting a single purpose can be when all are on the same page.
How motivating it is seeing people gather together under one umbrella to weather the storm.
What is Today's storm?
Indifference, racism, hatred, apathy, religious division, religious ignorance, political division, political ignorance, ethnic division, ethnic ignorance, economic division, economic ignorance, blind allegiance and many more.
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
- Ephesians 4:3
Any effort to be unified without peace as a foundation supporting all people is a failure to realize what unity really means.
Failure to work via peaceful means will produce a failure to gain support from others across mental boundaries; the people you need to reach in order to achieve unity.
What did Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King have in common last century? They motivated masses of people behind the front of unity using peaceful means in order to make changes in their society. Gandhi unified his countrymen into peacefully mobilizing against British colonial oppression and ushered that empire's rule out of their country. He encouraged his countrymen to cease supporting the empire's rule by not buying British products and not showing up to work in British mills. It was simple. He encouraged other methods which you can read at the Gandhi link. King motivated his fellow countrymen ( of various ethnic and religious backgrounds ) to support the message of peace and non-violence in demanding equal acknowledgment and equal rights of second-class people. He encouraged people to not cooperate and support an evil and divisive system. A look at some rap / hip-hop music and its detrimental effects on the youth would be one such thing King would most likely discourage people in supporting due to its depraving message. Here's a video of a gentleman who realized too late the depraving by-product of negative messages. Although these two men were murdered for their beliefs, words and efforts, their unified spirit and their peaceful leadership lives on in those who follow their example.
How do union employees get higher wages and increased benefits when negotiations for a new contract fail? They mobilize as one ( unify ) and their peaceful effort brings pressure that yields to their demands. There's no need for threats or idiotic demonstrations of anger, but unifying together as one brings a powerful wake up call to the executive and capital class that without the compliance of the employees no work can be done, no production can be realized and their money machines come to a halt. Here's a video which speaks to that machination and those who are conditioned to perpetuate it.
There are other outcomes to being unified, but these next two examples are two which do not meet the criteria I mentioned in 'Today's storm.'
When the housing bubble burst and the stock market crashed in the mid 2000's, banks and lending institutions worked in unison to limit credit to the general public, they decreased credit lines and systematically foreclosed on people's homes, businesses, cars and credit cards. These institutions worked in unison to solidify their monopoly on credit and the repercussions left many people broken ( financially, emotionally and spiritually ). This 'unity' didn't cross economic lines, but reinforced the economic division of the working class and the managerial / owning class. The reaction of the common man on the street was to occupy public spaces and to occupy Wall Street. Yet the unified force of those who wield power wasn't going to have it. This reality shouldn't cause disunity among the disenfranchised ( which is everyone who is a consumer and can lose their job for any reason ). There is a wicked method of unity, and that is one the individual needs to assess for themselves and objectively judge to find out if they are on the wrong side of peace, morality, ethics and history.
Just because you receive a paycheck for your job doesn't mean your job isn't wicked to the core.
Another example outside the criteria I mentioned is the unity of Nazi Germany under the ideology of Adolph Hitler and company. The people of Germany, with the use of propaganda and manipulation, were unified behind an ungodly purpose. One could see how the support of all the people ( all age groups ) were brought together to move as one and their unity in all things was quite profound. Yet, the leadership's purpose was not rooted in peace nor change for the betterment of all, but in genocide, conquest and distinct division of others... it was rooted in racism, hatred and indifference... and thus their efforts were in vain and resulted in the ruin of a people for several generations.
Some scholars and writers who research the rise and fall of empires see the Amerikan empire as becoming another tyrannical monster facing the same penalty as other empires before it who promoted unification of select groups while ignoring the marginalized and exploited the weak. We've read examples of out of touch leadership, a strengthening police state and the guise of 'homeland security' the world over making everybody terrorist by vague definition. Some parallels are evident with Amerika and Nazi Germany, but one thing is also evident: the people do not have to follow the leadership down a path to destruction. The people can choose to be united in peace and choose not to support any divisive ideals of the leadership or of fringe charlatans.
You can choose to align yourself with people of the same skin tone, or religious ideology, or economic class or the same political group if that is what makes you feel safe, strong and secure. Or you can choose to see people as people and not as labels. You can also choose to remove that sticky label off of yourself and choose to be a human being made in the image and likeness of an eternal God who doesn't see and judge according to these labels of men but sees people's hearts and judges them according to their words and actions.
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
- 1 Samuel 16:7
I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Yeshua Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.
- 1 Corinthians 1:10
- come or bring together for a common purpose or action.
- come or bring together to form a unit or a whole, especially in a political context.
- join in marriage
synonyms: unify, join, link, connect, combine, amalgamate, fuse, weld, bond, wed, marry, splice, ally, cooperate, collaborate.
antonyms: divide, split
late Middle English: from Latin unit- "joined together," from the verb unire, from unus 'one.'
How powerful people can be when they become one.
How impacting a single purpose can be when all are on the same page.
How motivating it is seeing people gather together under one umbrella to weather the storm.
What is Today's storm?
Indifference, racism, hatred, apathy, religious division, religious ignorance, political division, political ignorance, ethnic division, ethnic ignorance, economic division, economic ignorance, blind allegiance and many more.
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
- Ephesians 4:3
Any effort to be unified without peace as a foundation supporting all people is a failure to realize what unity really means.
Failure to work via peaceful means will produce a failure to gain support from others across mental boundaries; the people you need to reach in order to achieve unity.
What did Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King have in common last century? They motivated masses of people behind the front of unity using peaceful means in order to make changes in their society. Gandhi unified his countrymen into peacefully mobilizing against British colonial oppression and ushered that empire's rule out of their country. He encouraged his countrymen to cease supporting the empire's rule by not buying British products and not showing up to work in British mills. It was simple. He encouraged other methods which you can read at the Gandhi link. King motivated his fellow countrymen ( of various ethnic and religious backgrounds ) to support the message of peace and non-violence in demanding equal acknowledgment and equal rights of second-class people. He encouraged people to not cooperate and support an evil and divisive system. A look at some rap / hip-hop music and its detrimental effects on the youth would be one such thing King would most likely discourage people in supporting due to its depraving message. Here's a video of a gentleman who realized too late the depraving by-product of negative messages. Although these two men were murdered for their beliefs, words and efforts, their unified spirit and their peaceful leadership lives on in those who follow their example.
How do union employees get higher wages and increased benefits when negotiations for a new contract fail? They mobilize as one ( unify ) and their peaceful effort brings pressure that yields to their demands. There's no need for threats or idiotic demonstrations of anger, but unifying together as one brings a powerful wake up call to the executive and capital class that without the compliance of the employees no work can be done, no production can be realized and their money machines come to a halt. Here's a video which speaks to that machination and those who are conditioned to perpetuate it.
There are other outcomes to being unified, but these next two examples are two which do not meet the criteria I mentioned in 'Today's storm.'
When the housing bubble burst and the stock market crashed in the mid 2000's, banks and lending institutions worked in unison to limit credit to the general public, they decreased credit lines and systematically foreclosed on people's homes, businesses, cars and credit cards. These institutions worked in unison to solidify their monopoly on credit and the repercussions left many people broken ( financially, emotionally and spiritually ). This 'unity' didn't cross economic lines, but reinforced the economic division of the working class and the managerial / owning class. The reaction of the common man on the street was to occupy public spaces and to occupy Wall Street. Yet the unified force of those who wield power wasn't going to have it. This reality shouldn't cause disunity among the disenfranchised ( which is everyone who is a consumer and can lose their job for any reason ). There is a wicked method of unity, and that is one the individual needs to assess for themselves and objectively judge to find out if they are on the wrong side of peace, morality, ethics and history.
Just because you receive a paycheck for your job doesn't mean your job isn't wicked to the core.
Another example outside the criteria I mentioned is the unity of Nazi Germany under the ideology of Adolph Hitler and company. The people of Germany, with the use of propaganda and manipulation, were unified behind an ungodly purpose. One could see how the support of all the people ( all age groups ) were brought together to move as one and their unity in all things was quite profound. Yet, the leadership's purpose was not rooted in peace nor change for the betterment of all, but in genocide, conquest and distinct division of others... it was rooted in racism, hatred and indifference... and thus their efforts were in vain and resulted in the ruin of a people for several generations.
Some scholars and writers who research the rise and fall of empires see the Amerikan empire as becoming another tyrannical monster facing the same penalty as other empires before it who promoted unification of select groups while ignoring the marginalized and exploited the weak. We've read examples of out of touch leadership, a strengthening police state and the guise of 'homeland security' the world over making everybody terrorist by vague definition. Some parallels are evident with Amerika and Nazi Germany, but one thing is also evident: the people do not have to follow the leadership down a path to destruction. The people can choose to be united in peace and choose not to support any divisive ideals of the leadership or of fringe charlatans.
You can choose to align yourself with people of the same skin tone, or religious ideology, or economic class or the same political group if that is what makes you feel safe, strong and secure. Or you can choose to see people as people and not as labels. You can also choose to remove that sticky label off of yourself and choose to be a human being made in the image and likeness of an eternal God who doesn't see and judge according to these labels of men but sees people's hearts and judges them according to their words and actions.
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
- 1 Samuel 16:7
I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Yeshua Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.
- 1 Corinthians 1:10
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