The divisions in our lives? In our churches? In our families? In our friendships? In our marriages? In our businesses? In the United States? In America? In Humanity?

Sure, there are negotiating tactics to overcome divisions. This evening, the husband picks what to watch together on Netflix. Tomorrow evening, the wife picks what to watch together on Netflix.

But what is the ultimate strategy to overcome divisions? How do we keep the husband and wife wanting to watch Netflix together instead of alone?

The pastor who performed our wedding ceremony taught me the strategy for overcoming divisions in a marriage and in every avenue of life. Since our marriage has already lasted almost 40 years, I’d say our pastor’s strategy for overcoming divisions has stood the test of time. Furthermore, our pastor’s strategy inspired me to write unifying visions in my books Visions of America and Visions of the Church (published in one volume).

What is this strategy?

The only way to overcome divisions between people is to give them a vision of the future that makes them want to overcome their divisions.

I’m not sure what my pastor and I were discussing that prompted this insight. Perhaps we were discussing the dangers of nuclear war. Perhaps we were discussing the intractable, never-ending violence in places such as Northern Ireland and the Middle East.

As a lawyer, I expressed my belief that it ought to be possible to negotiate an end to such strife because it is clearly in the best interests of all the stakeholders to get along with each other.

But from his many years of counseling people, my pastor commented that people rarely overcome their differences by rationally considering their mutual self-interests. Whether it is a marriage on the rocks, a disagreement about running the church, or people ending centuries of violence, it takes a vision of how much better the future can be to get people to lay aside their disagreements and hatreds, and to work together.

Now that I am older and wiser, I see better the truth of what my pastor told me. I’m much more familiar with how people become irrational when they feel they have been mistreated.

Furthermore, my pastor’s strategy ties into things I’ve read and seen about managing a business or any other activity. To be successful, there must be a strong, unifying vision to inspire the people involved.

Otherwise, people lose sight of the big picture. They begin doing what is best for themselves, even if it is not best for everyone involved. People begin working at cross-purposes. Misunderstandings and anger grow. Everyone loses.

As the proverb goes: “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18, KJV).

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This blog is related to the blog titled “Why Do We Need Visions?” posted on 10-8-18 in the category: Visions of America.

This blog is based on pages 77-79 of my book, Lighting the World.

The pastor was Ed Deichler who married my wife and me at First Baptist Church in Brockport in 1982.