Any time two sinners interact with each other, there is the potential for conflict. Sometimes, that conflict can rise to such a level that it creates a rift. Whereas before, there was friendship and fellowship, there now are hurt feelings and avoidance. Their conflict can even spill over and involve others in the strife.
Satan knows the power of strife and division to hinder the work of God both privately and publicly. That is why God warns us about the danger of division. “And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” (Mark 3:25)
One place where unity is not just preferable but an absolute necessity is in the local church. In John 17, Jesus prayed four times that his followers would “be one.” Imagine how disturbed the Apostle Paul was when he heard that two women in the church at Philippi were at odds with each other. Imagine the church’s surprise when the letter Paul wrote to them was read aloud, and the reader came to Philippians 4:2: “I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord.” Whatever the cause of the contention between these two, their rift has been recorded for eternity. Does that seem drastic to you and perhaps even unfair to those two? God the Holy Spirit did not think so. It was more important that they be reconciled and unified in the Lord.
Since unity is that important to God, we need to go to extreme lengths to be reconciled with those who have wronged us and those that we have wronged. Whatever drastic steps it might take, it is worth it to be right with God and each other.