Unity of Purpose

Essentially, for the last two months my wife and I have been on the road living in our fifth wheel trailer as we have traveled to a variety of churches. I have noticed that driving a truck and trailer is a very different proposition than driving a car. When I get back home and start driving my little SUV around town, I think, “How quick and light and easy is this driving compared to pulling a rig around.” The trailer we have now is actually the smallest trailer we have ever had, but still it is more of an event, takes longer to prepare, drive, and get places than if you are driving a car.

The same is true with people. If you are driving yourself, it is fairly simple, even though it still may be hard. If you are driving an entire group of people, like the nation of Israel, through a wilderness, that is a different proposition indeed. As Israel came to the border of the land of Canaan, the people began to experience some issues, issues in keeping a group together in unity. In Numbers 32 the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and eventually the half tribe of Manasseh, had a great multitude of cattle. Numbers 32:1 says, “When they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place of cattle.” In verse 5 they ask Moses, “If we have found grace in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for possession and bring us not over Jordan.”

What follows is Moses being provoked. He basically said, “Your fathers did the same thing. They spied out the land of Canaan, and discouraged the hearts of the other people when they came back with their report. They refused to enter Canaan and God judged them for that. What do you think you are doing? You are being destructive. Don’t do this.” They replied, “We will help the rest of the tribes gain their portion and inheritance in Canaan, but when it is all done, let us find our inheritance on this side of the Jordan because this is a great place for our herds.”

Some people believe this setup was acceptable, that it was fine for Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh to live and prosper on the opposite side of the Jordan River from the rest of the tribes. Others feel this was wrong. No matter what you think, there is no doubt that it was a complication that brought up problems later on. The lesson for us is that unity of purpose is central to the success of any group. There are three dangers that complicate communication and unity of purpose.

First, we have size. Size is not wrong. It is not wrong for a nation, church, or family to be large, but size is something that must be thought about. There was one promise given to twelve tribes. The tribes that wished to stay on the other side of Jordan were called brethren, but because of the size, their interests were somewhat divided. In fact, Manasseh was fractured. Half of the tribe was on each side of the Jordan. It reminds me of the danger of size.

When most organizations get started, whether a church, Christian college, or whatever, there is usually a very narrow central governing passion that produces that organization, but over time, as it grows, its interests diverge, and it has a lot of overhead. More and more of the energy of that organization is given to overhead to just survive than is given to the founding purpose of the organization. Over time, the Christian college, camp, or church, just gets lost. They are so busy just surviving by raising money, building buildings, and taking care of what they already have that their unity of purpose gets lost. That is a danger. The larger you become, the more effort should be given to communication.

Second, we have time. In verse 8 Moses said, “Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land…they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel.” As it turns out, at least they presented a noble answer to Moses that they would do their part. In verse 23 Moses basically says, “Ok, if you help your brethren get their portion of the land that is great, but if you will not do that, you have sinned against the Lord and be sure your sin will find you out.” So, time is a complication to the unity of purpose of a group.

There were if/then propositions. If we go into the land, then we will be fine. Moses said, “If you go with your brethren and help them gain their portion, then you can come back and raise your herds.” Notice all of this is perspective, if/then. Regardless of Moses’ concerns or the intentions for the tribes that wished to stay on the other side of Jordan, time passed and the more that time passed, the more communication must be passed down from one group to the next. Otherwise you lose your unity of purpose.

Think about how many people stay in some dead heretical church because their great-great-grandfather is buried in the church cemetery. That is an old model, but the point is that someone has a passion for God and doing the right thing, then they get old and their kids get some of that passion, and their grandkids end up with a small portion of the passion the grandparents had. By the time you get to the third or fourth generation, people have totally lost what was driving that group in the first place. So, the larger your size and the longer your time, the more communication is imperative to pass down so there is a unity of purpose across tribes and years to do what God has commanded.

Third, distance is also a danger to communication. Verse 19 says the tribes that wished to stay on the one side of Jordan said, “For we will not inherit with them on yonder side Jordan, or forward; because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side Jordan eastward.” There was a literal geographic barrier between Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh and every other tribe. Whether you think this is right or wrong, it definitely is a complication in communication which is vital for a group to have unity.

I have found that distance is primarily in one’s head, not on a map. In other words, when we say, “I’m not close to them,” we are not talking about how far in miles but how far in mind. I would far rather be unified with someone in my conviction than in my street address. However, the one does affect the other at some point. Think about marriage, church, or government. If your government is 4,000 miles away, it may be imposing things on you that you don’t feel are adequate. If you are married and are constantly divided from your spouse, then communication becomes more difficult. I know you have Face-time and phones, but it is just not the same.

So, whether you think this was morally right or wrong, what is abundantly obvious is that unity of purpose is central for the success of any group. If you wish to have success and unity, then you ought to be aware of these three dangers that complicate communication.