On Thursday, May 23, 2025, this week, we will be under the shadow of another labour strike. Canada Post workers have threatened to walk off the job again (as in November of last year), and many of us will be left stranded without a regular mail service. The difficulty is that both management and union are not listening to each other. There is a litany of conflicting information and there is increasing stonewalling that takes place that results in the suspension of meaningful conversations, and the ability to arrive at a negotiated settlement. The corporation of Canada Post on the one hand says that the way in which postal service has been run is unsustainable, and the corporation has been posting frightening losses every year. A simple glance at the accounts show an ever-increasing debt and an ever-declining revenue. Letter mail has dropped significantly, and parcel mail now rules, including competitors who are willing to work through the weekends to get their parcels delivered. The union disputes the dire state that the corporation is in, decrying the corporation for their negative characterization of the situation as a ploy to reduce the number of Canada Post employees, and pay less for more work. As a result, we are at a standstill. And unfortunately, the impact of this will hit us all. While many may say, “I use only email” the cost of delivery for manufacturers, distributors, small and large business, and between rural and more populated regions will increase dramatically. The trickle-down effect of these costs will in fact come in more than a trickle in the current economy that we have. Many fear a torrential increase in the cost of goods and services, and a disruption in the way information flows in the country.
As I read the Scripture, I am well aware of the impact that the nature of these disagreements has on everyone. Unrest and arguments disrupt a people. When Adam and Eve fought with each other under the tree, the paradise of Eden was lost to both. When Cain was angry with Abel for offering a better sacrifice, hatred matured into murder for the very first time in human history. When ten tribes of Israel split off from two tribes of Judah in an irreconcilable difference, the nation of Israel was weakened by centuries of internal conflict so that Israel was carved up between the Assyrians and the Babylonians. In modern day examples, when the world couldn’t agree on what to do with the new leadership in Germany, Hitler boldly broke his promises and invaded Europe. When civil unrest occurred in Ukraine in 2014 leading to the dissolution of the government, Russia marched in and annexed Crimea. “How good and pleasant it is,” the Psalmist declared, “for brethren to dwell together in unity” (Psalm 133:1) The words used to describe the result of unity are carefully chosen. “Good” is the word tob which is an expression not of pleasure but of treasure. Unity is worth the treasure of gold and silver. The word “pleasant” is nayim which is a term to describe the harmony of music, the grace of good words, the peace of a loving family. The psalm ends in just a few short verses by declaring that God commands blessing forevermore on those who dwell together in unity. In the New Testament, Paul tells us that unity is to be pursued and not taken for granted; it must be done in the power of the Holy Spirit; it must be bound in the bonds of peace (Ephesians 4:3). Over the next few weeks, we will hear much more of the arguments and the disharmony that comes from the conflict at Canada Post, and in the political arenas of our own country and the world. Many will be torn apart by the actions of those in fights with each other. Many will be wounded. The response that the believer in Christ is not to take sides but to take to prayer. Brokenness cannot be mended except by God; unity cannot come except by the Spirit. Pray that we will “dwell together in unity.”
Just Church
At Just Church, we call each person to dwell together in unity, not of agreement or negotiated settlements, but by the power of Christ. “The vision of Just Church is to establish a church in just the way Christ called the church to be – true to His Word, loving Him, loving one another, and loving the lost.”
