One of the oldest and most popular card games where I live is “Happy Families”. Invented in 1851, it consists of 48 cards, depicting 12 families of four members each. The aim is to collect as many of these happy families as possible. One of the greatest blessings in life is to be part of a happy family—where people love and care for each other and enjoy being together. The experience is even richer when the whole family share a common faith in God and a commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Psalm 133 sums itself up in the first line. Life is delightful when family members live in unity (v. 1). Then there are two pictures, oil and dew, to illustrate the joy of such a life (vv. 2–3). Psalm 104:15 tells us that God has given us oil to make our face shine, and Psalm 45:7 associates oil with joy. Oil running down a long beard and on to the robe is therefore a picture of abundant joy. As for dew, Mount Hermon, the highest mountain in Israel, was known to be heavy with dew. Dew brings life to crops when rain is scarce. It indicates a flourishing harvest. Similarly, unity indicates the abundant blessings of God.

Sadly, many families experience more conflict than unity. This has been the pattern from the beginning. Cain killed his brother Abel. Jacob’s sons despised their brother Joseph. The writer of today’s psalm, King David, knew personally the pain of a broken family. His son Amnon raped his daughter Tamar, Ammon’s half-sister, and her full brother Absalom killed Amnon in revenge. Then Absalom led a coup against David. Nothing has changed. Today, in my country, one in four women suffer violence from male family members.

Since Christians are brothers and sisters in Christ, the church is a family too—but one that is to be different. Jesus prayed to the Father that His church “may be one as [they were] one” (John 17:11). Paul encourages us to “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). These are two truths we need to hold together. God has made us one; we don’t need to create unity. Yet we must maintain this unity. “Make every effort” means to be zealous or eager. We should do everything in our power to keep the unity which, by grace, we’ve been given.

While Psalm 133 expresses the heart of David, his words also reflect the heart of God. God is pleased when His children live together in unity. Corresponding to this, Proverbs 6:19 tells us God hates “a person who stirs up conflict in the community”.

Church conflicts are common and, when there’s ungodliness or false teaching, sometimes necessary. However, the godly Christian will always strive to be a peacemaker, not a peace-breaker. A loving family or church is one of the Lord’s richest blessings.