Divided We’re Too Small

“How good and pleasant it is that brothers dwell together. It is like fine oil on the head running down onto the beard, the beard of Aaron, that comes down over the collar of his robe; like the dew of Hermon that falls upon the mountains of Zion. There the Lord ordained blessing, everlasting life.”

Psalm 133

Divided We’re Too Small

While religion represents an attempt to put FAITH into practice with routine, over time we have divided ourselves for many reasons. More often than not we separate our religious practices by preference. The institutions born of our demonstrations of faith have been and can be obstacles to unity. IF we come together about the things we agree on, our collective faith can change the world.

The question we need to address is how do we elevate our collective consciousness beyond the many things that divide us? We can choose to elevate our collective knowledge to pursue that which is greater. As we connect to that which we share, space is created to maximize the mutual pursuit of vanity. It is written, “vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” The truth of this statement gives us a key to success.

For example, Motown Records’ success was largely guided by Barry Gordy’s understanding of this fact. Motown’s popularity, despite the racial tensions of the time, was evidence that people can’t help being people. When we appeal to our collective humanity, great unity is possible.

Barry Gordy made the deliberate choice to promote songs that appealed to common human experience. In this way, superficial, illusory boundaries disappeared. When people sang and danced together despite tensions, change occurred. In those moments, people were able to agree. For example, when the Temptations sung “My Girl, ” it appealed to anyone with a wife or girlfriend no matter the age, race, or affiliation.

My point is that the collective desire for safety and efficiency outweigh the desires for conflict and waste. This can give us the confidence to overhaul our archaic, inefficient ways. The growth of technology has out-paced the growth of our ability to connect authentically with real people.

As we maximize our individual abilities to do our part(s), we need leaders that don’t major in the minors, but truly focus on root problems. Many of our problems come from neglect and a deterioration of the things we share like roads and bridges. Because none of us exist in a vacuum, we must tend to that which we hold in common. We each need to consider how our actions impact our environment and each other.