Importance of Teamwork and Collaboration

Read This: “For just as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body – though many – are one body, so too is Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. Whether Jews or Greeks or slaves or free, we were all made to drink of the one Spirit.” (1 Co 12:12-13)

Think: Have you ever wished, even for a minute, that everyone else was just like you? Did you ever have a day when everyone around you seemed kind of weird? Maybe you’re better than that, but there are a whole lot of us out there who are still maturing in that area. God created us all unique and that’s a beautiful thing—but it can also be a messy thing.

If you put a lot of people together and give them a job to do, it doesn’t usually take long before there’s drama. It’s the stuff reality TV is made of. God has given each of us different gifts, talents, and personalities. Unfortunately, society leads us to believe we have the right to be critical of people who aren’t like us. Nothing could be more destructive to God’s design. “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I do not need you,’ nor in turn can the head say to the foot, ‘I do not need you.’” (1 Co 12: 21). We’re all a little weird in our own way but there’s purpose in it.

As the Church, the body of Christ, we are God’s team—he’s our captain and we’re the players. Together, we have one goal—to bring him glory and honor and make his name known. God intended for us to work this out together. So we put aside our differences, our preferences, and our personal agendas. Instead we learn to appreciate each other’s strengths and deal lovingly with weaknesses. In John 13:35 Jesus says, “Everyone will know by this that you are my disciples—if you have love for one another.” The world can’t explain that kind of unity.

So next time you think you want everyone to be like you, think again like a team player. We’re created unique because there’s no harmony if we all sing the same notes. We need to come together, united in Christ and by God’s grace, to carry out his good and perfect will.

Ask: What “teams” are you on? What are the blessings and challenges of serving on those teams? Are there any individuals who are harder for you to get along with? If so, why and what can you learn from that?

Pray: Thank God that in him we can be a team that has an eternal impact. Ask him to help you be the kind of team member that shows God’s love and grace to everyone—even those more difficult to get along with.