Teamwork

I watched the Superbowl this year like many of you, expecting New England to walk over top of New York, although I must confess that I was pulling for the underdog Giants. It is amazing what a team can do when they work together. I could not believe how the rookies stepped up to the task and filled in for the injured Jeremy Shockey and others who were not at 100%. It was amazing how #44 Bradshaw was able to play off the blocks of his offensive line and carry the ball for yard after yard. The young quarterback - Eli Manning - described by one retired NFL veteran as not having the leadership ability to take his team to victory over the Patriots, pulled the Giants together in an incredible way. Taking the ball in the 4th quarter, with just a little more than two and one-half minutes remaining, Manning became a field general, directing patterns and hitting his receivers at the weakest points of New England's defense. In the final drive that secured their victory, he completed a final pass to Plaxico Burress in the corner of the end zone that must have sent the bookies running for cover. The most amazing thing to me about this game wasn’t that the Giants beat the Patriots and defied overwhelming odds. The amazing thing is how these folks worked together to accomplish something that was totally outside the spectrum of believability for most football ‘experts’. But when people join together to accomplish something, it’s not unusual for the experts to be “stunned and amazed.” So much more can be accomplished when you work together than when you work apart. Even in the face of overwhelming odds, the job at hand becomes more manageable when you’re not alone.
So often in life we try to survive without other people. We seem to have this built in tendency to be independent and reject the offer of help from others, even God. We have this mentality that we have to “pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps”, otherwise we haven’t done enough. But that attitude does nothing but leave us vulnerable to discouragement, burnout and defeat. And we'll never reach our potential when we're trying to do life "solo". There’s a story about a man who discovered a turtle sitting on top of a fence post. It was the most amazing thing he’d ever seen. The turtle was basking in the sun while sitting about four feet off the ground. Turtles can’t climb fence posts, but this turtle was certainly head and shell above all the other turtles in that field. Someone else had picked the turtle up and lifted him to a place he couldn’t go to on his own. If we could reject our self-dependent tendencies and reach out to those around us, not only could we help them to the top of their fence post, in the process we’d be lifted higher ourselves. I challenge you to begin thinking about the areas in which you struggle. What are your weaknesses? With what do you bogged down when you’re trying to minister? Look around you. Most likely God has placed other people in your life to help you accomplish the ministry opportunity He has given you. At the same time, take inventory of your own strengths. Who can you help in your circle of friends? God has placed you where you are to help someone else on their journey of life. Solomon once said “Two people can accomplish more than twice as much as one; they get a better return for their labor.” (Ecclesiastes 3:9) You may be a very gifted and talented person, but regardless of what you have to offer, you can double your effectiveness when you work with a friend. Solomon also tells us that a friend is a real blessing in times of trouble. “If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But people who are alone when they fall are in real trouble.” (Ecclesiastes 3:10)

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