Become Part of a Team

In every aspect of today's society we have forgotten the truth of John Donne's words, "No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent." In our families everyone has their own schedule and it is seldom that everyone comes together at the same time. The daily opportunity to sit together at the evening meal and share the day's events has disappeared. In our churches the mark of success seems to be when something is planned for every night of the week. In trying to be loyal to the church we become disloyal to one another. In the workplace personal accomplishment and recognition leading to that pay raise or promotion overshadows teamwork.

We need to be reminded that our God-given goal in life is not to focus on ourselves but as a result of our relationship with him we are to reach out to others and develop meaningful relationships that will change lives and our world. As Jin Kwon has said, "One piece of log creates a small fire, adequate to warm you up, add just a few more pieces to blast an immense bonfire, large enough to warm up your entire circle of friends; needless to say that individuality counts but team work dynamites."

Perhaps the reason we don't focus on teamwork is that we are fearful that we will reveal ourselves to be less than self-sufficient. We are hesitant to say, "I need others." There are many times in life when we are forced to admit our need and when we are part of a team those times will be met with success as the team pulls together. When my wife had surgery several years ago our pastor well said, "If you don't tell us what you need, we won't know." So we made our needs known and the team went into action. We were blessed and those on the team were blessed as well. If you are not connected to a team, get connected and enjoy the blessings waiting for you.