teamwork_unity

The Value of Teamwork & Unity,
by Randall D. Kittle

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companions. … Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.” — Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

The biggest blockbuster movie of 2012 was The Avengers. It broke all box office records for ticket sales and had people standing in lines for hours just hoping to get in. On the surface, it was your basic superheroes-saving-the-world story. But this one had an interesting twist that made it far more than just the latest action-packed mega-movie. What made it different and appealing to so many was the premise that no single superhero could gain the victory by himself. None of them had enough ability on their own to defeat the enemy. These heroes were forced to accept an even more difficult challenge than saving the world — learning to work together as a team.

Because each of these characters were used to going it alone, it was no simple task to become a single fighting unit. At first, the idea of working together went nowhere. None of them wanted anything to do with the others. Each avenger had reasons they couldn’t work with the others and why they work better alone (or at least when they are in charge). Egos soon clash, and they start fighting amongst themselves — not just arguing, physically fighting each other!

Eventually these flawed characters come to realize that they are the only ones who can save the world and will just have to learn to deal with their differences. Once they choose to put their egos and personal agendas aside and do what is needed to function as a team, they quickly discover that together they can accomplish far more than they could working independently. Friendships are forged … the world is saved … and we’re all reminded of the value of teamwork and unity.

As I thought about The Avengers, the valuable lesson hidden in this movie for us as born-again believers became apparent. Each of us is really far more than we appear on the outside. None of us are “ordinary people.” God has transformed our lives and imparted His Spirit into us. While we may not be what the world would call “super heroes,” we have all become “supernatural,” for we have become new creations who live by “the new way of the Spirit” (Romans 7:6). Though our natural abilities may be limited, we “can do all things through Christ who strengthens [us]” (Philippians 4:13). More than this, we have been entrusted with the words of life for a perishing world. As those who have been given the ministry of reconciliation, the fate of others in this world is, to a great measure, in our hands.

But like the heroes in the movie, the Church impacts this world the most when we are a strong, united team. None of us can defeat the enemy on our own. We must learn to “keep the unity of the Spirit” (Ephesians 4:3) and “be of the same mind toward one another” (Romans 12:16) by choosing to “love one another deeply, from the heart” (1 Peter 1:22). Let us accept Jesus’ challenge to work together under His lordship, for our lost and dying world needs us far more than a team of mythical, masked superheroes.