“But that does not mean we want to tell you exactly how to out your faith into practice. We want to work together with you so you will be full of joy as you stand firm in your faith.”

If we are honest with ourselves, as I have to be with myself on this subject, working together is a challenge. While we all know that we are better in teams and can multiply our results when we work together (after all, two heads are better than one, right?) finding the groove and the relationship to really work as a team or partners is difficult. Why is this? Partly, I believe, is that we are conditioned to be solo players much more than good team members. We start early in life sitting at a desk by ourselves being called on one by one for the right answer, or the chance to go to the board and show what we know. Only later in life does someone say, “break out into teams” or “break into small groups and come back and report”. And when the rubber meets the road in business, we still usually call out the person to take the hill, not the full team. Sure, there are many examples of places where it is about the team, and it works, but it’s still just as hard as individuals to work together there as anywhere else. Being good at working together requires removal of ego, sacrifice of ourselves for others to do well and patience. Three areas that are hard for most of us. But, if we can get there, it’s worth it. Great team players go far. Great team members become coveted and sought after. Great cooperators get called on over and over. And, all of the opposites are true if we are not good team players or struggle to work together.

This is an area where we shine a strong light to others since everyone struggles in one way or another with this. If we want to be one who can bring the example of our Savior to work with us, being a great at working together is important. Paul and Timothy give us their example in 2 Corinthians when they tell the church that they are not there to tell them what to do, but to show them the joy that comes from working together towards a result. What can we do today to be better at working together? Where are our failings in this area that we need to fix, now, once and for all? Let’s not let another day go by that we don’t get tuned up in this area. Much is riding on our ability to work together with those who need and look to us for how we are supposed to work and live and will one day want to know the “why” behind it all.

Reference: 2 Corinthians 1:24 (New Living Testament)