What's in a Unit?

A unit is considered as a single thing, person, or group that is a constituent of a whole. This definition leads me to believe that a unit has to be whole and together in order to function properly. Another way to look at unit is to break it up: U- N- IT. Basically saying ‘You In It.’ There are many forms that a unit takes. There is the family unit, church unit, friends unit, even a work unit. We must keep in mind that in order for these groups to be complete and work in the way they are set up to work, everyone involved have to be IN the group. There has to be an understanding of the group’s purpose. If it is a family unit, the parents, children, siblings should be present and included in all things relating to the family. The same can be said for the church, work and friend units. Each part of the unit has their part/position to play. If they are not receiving what they need, it can cause them to not be in position, not play the right role, which may cause a glitch in the unit; therefore taking the time to reevaluate the goal, purpose and components of the unit is important and essential to the unit continuing to run smoothly.

If there is a part of the unit that is not IN the unit be in not present, not operating correctly, slow to respond, neglecting its responsibility, then the unit is in danger of slowing down productivity or malfunctioning, thereby threatening a breakdown of the unit altogether. In order to avoid destroying the unit, we must do maintenance checks on our units. Maintenance checks allow us to see if something needs attending to, repaired, or replaced without an abrupt and drastic disruption of the unit flow. Some parts of the unit may need oil, tightening up, Freon, antifreeze, etc. I remember a couple of weeks ago my parents air conditioner went out and had been out for weeks. I was sitting at the house while the repair men fixed the unit. At one point they came to me and said they couldn’t fix the air after all because the company ordered the wrong size/number part. I was shocked because this was the second time this happened. My parents were hot in more ways than one! How the technician explained it, the part would fit perfectly, but to mix that number with the number that the unit uses would burn the entire unit out and my parents would need a new unit. There was a solution that allowed the air to be fixed that day and my parents didn’t have to suffer in the heat anymore.

This got me to thinking. There are people who are in our “unit” that look like us, that may fit in our unit, BUT have the wrong number. Their number does not match ours, but we feel we can’t let them go and force them in the unit, or refuse to let them go or replace them, which can burn us out and totally destroy the unit. There may be some who are close to our unit that we think will mesh well, but the numbers don’t match. This could be the way they speak, act, how they conduct business or simply their attitude. Things may work smoothly on the surface of the unit, but eventually the fact that the numbers (spirit, beliefs, like-mindedness, character, integrity, etc) are not the same; their infiltration will cause the overall unit to malfunction. Arguments, hostility, backbiting, not speaking, and selfishness are all possible outcomes of forcing a piece into your unit when it doesn’t belong. The technicians had to add a piece to the part that essentially would convert the wrong numbered part to the right number part and the air conditioner could work properly without the threat of it being destroyed. I was thankful because it was hot, like a sauna in the house and I was in there for 5-6 hours, but my parents had endured that heat for weeks. They were thankful too.  

Just as the technicians had to add a converter to the unit in order for it to work, we have that same option. When we relinquish what we want and surrender to God and the Holy Spirit, we too become a part of a unit and we not only fit, but belong IN it. We have the opportunity to fellowship with Christ and other believers. We recognize when something is off  because we work closely together and have gotten to know each person in our unit; and have the chance to talk to those people in our unit to encourage them, help them, pray for and with them and help them along the way. So look at whatever group(s), unit(s) you are a part of today, I ask are U- N- IT (YOU IN IT)?

Sacorsha