Recently we moved to a different community and it took teamwork to make that possible. It would have been almost impossible to move by ourselves, but with teamwork it became very manageable. Some people packed boxes, some carried boxes to the truck, others put the boxes in the right place in the truck. Finally, another person drove the truck to the destination while others unpacked it when it arrived. Have you ever been on a team? How did that affect you? What did you learn?
Biblical Teamwork
Ecclesiastes 4:9 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 10 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.[1] When individuals work together, they can double their strength and get much more done as a team. They also reap the value of having worked in unison, thus creating harmony instead of disorder. Working as a team begins with the efforts of each person, as they cooperate.
1 Corinthians 12:14 Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part.[2] In essence, this is the simplest and clearest statement about teamwork in the Bible. The body of Christ is a team. The body is not supported by one person, but by all of us. We are strongest working together in unity. Teamwork is the key to living life in harmony, so that we can do God’s will.
Even the Apostle Paul Needed a Team
Paul couldn’t reach people with the Good News of Jesus on his own. Acts 17:13 But when some Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God in Berea, they went there and stirred up trouble. 14 The believers acted at once, sending Paul on to the coast, while Silas and Timothy remained behind. 15 Those escorting Paul went with him all the way to Athens; then they returned to Berea with instructions for Silas and Timothy to hurry and join him. [3]
What does our story tell us about teamwork in the body of Christ? Other believers took the initiative to send Paul to the coast. God wants us to work together and there is no room for lone rangers. Believers escorted Paul to Athens to assure his safety. These same people also returned to Berea to give instructions to Timothy and Silas. Timothy and Silas could finish the work in Berea and then join Paul in Athens. Paul was a great Apostle, but he would not have been successful if it had not been for others helping him along the way. The same is true for us. We may be overwhelmed by a task if we are working alone. Teamwork gives us hope that it can be accomplished. When we work as a team in the Kingdom of God good things happen!
To hear more about Paul and teamwork, listen here: https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/hope-in-persecution
[1-3] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation . Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.