Last night, our congregation hosted our annual Passover Seder, and while our family has spent the two weeks leading up to it, buying, preparing, and arranging all the little details such as food, decorations, name tags, place cards, signs, and so much more (yes, it was about a four page list worth of work to do ahead of time!), I always love to see how the teamwork in the final preparation makes the event turn out so well.
We rent our local township hall for the day, and yesterday around 3:30pm, a group of five adults and two children began our work. We had to arrange the tables including tearing down and moving all the extra ones. Then we arranged the needed ones in our set up and began decorating the hall to make it festive and fancy. We had a few more people continue arriving until we had about 10 adults working together. We had the room totally set up, the welcome table ready, all the places set for dinner, and all the food ready to go in just over one and a half hours. That was the shortest amount of time it had ever taken us in the preparation, and it was done by teamwork.
When we were finished later that evening, everyone pitched in to help put everything away, tables back the way we found them, and the hall cleaned up. We were done in about an hour because we worked as a team.
Keeping this example in your mind, think of various areas that the importance of teamwork shows up. It can be at work when your department is all working to get a project done on time for the deadline. It can also be as “simple” as your family working to maintain a garden together. No matter, the simpleness or complexity, working as a team makes any load much lighter.
Scripture confirms this fact very clearly in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”
And what makes a good team? The absolute best team is made up of like minded believers who trust each other, are seeking to glorify God, and all want each other’s best. This group which is seeking no selfish gain will have the ability to be the most effective.
I think these two quotes can effectively sum up the heart of teamwork. “Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” (- Andrew Carnegie) and “It is amazing what can be accomplished when nobody cares about who gets the credit. (- Robert Yates).
And while a team does have natural leaders develop within it, that group must work as a team to fully accomplish their goals. Are you willing to be a team player for our Messiah? And what are some stories of the importance of teamwork you can share?
About Jocelin Boutet