TEAMWORK: VICTORIOUS AND GLORIOUS! -- Devotional for November 8, from "Good Seeds"

Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor (Ecclesiastes 4:9). Better to live in the desert than with a quarrelsome, complaining woman (Proverbs 21:19). How can two walk together unless they are in agreement? (Amos 3:3).

These verses may appear to contradict one another, but in reality they provide a wonderful balance of truth. Solomon’s maxim, “Two are better than one,” refers to people working together as a team. With 1) agreement of purpose, 2) division of labor, 3) synchronization of effort, and 4) mutual respect and encouragement, they will accomplish exponentially greater results for their efforts, than from two people working independently, for true teamwork doesn’t work by addition, but multiplication. The four components just listed reveal that teamwork is no easy task. A team is two people tugging at one load, but that doesn’t say it all. They both could be pulling with all their might, but in two different directions, in which case one man’s efforts would negate the other’s. That is what the Proverbs passage implies: “It is better to work alone than with an uncooperative partner.” And Amos adds another dimension: Not only can two people fail to accomplish God’s best by not WORKING together, they can also break down and come to a standstill by not WALKING together. This word refers to more than just what happens during working hours – it has to do with what occurs during all waking hours! Partners on a team must be in basic agreement about the direction, the destination and the pace of the journey. So, how is such agreement and cooperation accomplished? Two things: Communication and Communion. I enjoy using a GPS navigational guide in my car. As soon as I enter the address of my desired destination the communication begins: the printed name on the screen of the next street I will need to take works in conjunction with the pleasant voice of “Miss Britannia” (I’ve selected UK English option over the crass American dialect) who alerts me at given intervals how soon I must make a change, like this: “In one point five miles, turn left.” This constant COMMUNICATION keeps me on track and gets me where I need to go. If only human team members would be as faithful to one another in providing information, feedback, and directional alerts! But human team members can give to one another what my little “mechanical maiden” could never provide: COMMUNION. Members of the body of Christ don’t just talk to each other, they care for one another, pray for each other, watch each other’s backs, and build up and encourage one another. In fact, it is the putting into practice of all the “One Anothers” of the New Testament that makes God’s team so victorious and glorious!