No "I" In Team

Nehemiah 2:17 - But now I said to them, "You know very well what trouble we are in.  Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire.  Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and end this disgrace!"

I came across this passage in a devotional recently, and it pointed out how Nehemiah used the words "we" when he talked about the trouble, and "us" when he talked about the work that needed to be done.  The problems that the people were facing were not his doing.  He had been in exile.  But he didn't go back to just supervise and bark orders at them.  He went there to be a part of the solution.

It's easy to sit there and say, "Well it was his home, and it was God's holy city, so he should have gone there for exactly that," and I would be inclined to agree with you.  But more importantly, Nehemiah knew how to lead.  He understood that the people didn't need someone to come home and dress them down and give them grief over everything that had happened.  They needed some direction and guidance, and someone to show that they actually cared about what was going on.  And Nehemiah provided exactly that.

He also showed them that they weren't alone in their problems.  That their problems had now also become his problem.

I don't know about you, but I never cared for the saying, "There's no "I" in team."  Having played sports when I was younger, I never needed to be reminded that the team was all in it together, and that we all won or lost as a unit.  There were some that needed that reminder, but those who were only in it for themselves eventually got noticed, and never lasted.  I remember a funny commercial that was making fun of some sports cliche's and had someone interviewing an athlete.  When the athlete was obviously only interested in highlighting his achievements on the field, the reporter said, "There's no "I" in team."  To which the athlete replied, "Yeah, and there ain't no "we" either."

As a Christian, what does fellowship mean to you?  Does it mean just hanging out with fellow believers, and talking about something you read in the Bible?  Sure that's a part of it, but it is so much more.

In the book of Acts, we read about the beginning of the Church.  It says, "All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord's supper), and to prayer" (Acts 2:42).  It goes on to say in verses 45 and 46 how they sold their property and possessions and shared with those in need, and that they shared meals with great joy and generosity and praised God and enjoyed the goodwill of the people.

These people did life together.  That's what fellowship is all about.  It isn't just about sharing money or possessions with our brothers and sisters, or just about sharing Scripture we read, but about sharing life and sharing our burdens with each other.  If we are spending time in fellowship with a fellow believer and they are sharing their heart with us about a particular tough situation they are dealing with our response shouldn't be, "Man, it sure sucks to be you."

It's not easy to develop compassion and empathy for others.  It's something that I have definitely struggled with over the years.  I have been guilty so many times of telling someone that I would pray for them, for whatever situation they had going on, and then forgot all about it.  Compassion and empathy cannot be faked.  People can always tell when you're full of beans.

There's a worship song that I particularly like that says, "Break my heart for what breaks Yours."  One of the things that I believe breaks God's heart is apathy - a lack of interest or concern for things that others find moving.  When we don't care what happens to our brothers and sisters, I believe that we are telling God that we are more concerned with ourselves.  That's not what we have been called to be.

Jesus told us, "Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted" (Matthew 23:12).  Caring about someone else's well being, and putting them ahead of ourselves is humbling ourselves to serve our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.  Taking someone's burdens into our hearts and praying for them takes that mysterious "I" out of team, and puts the "We" in there.  Like anything, compassion has to be developed.  That's part of the beauty of God's work in us.  He is happy to work in us when we let Him in and let Him change us to be the people we should be, united for one purpose - to glorify God.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for humbling me and teaching me about compassion.  Thank You for continuing Your work in me, so that I can be a humble servant to You and Your children.  I pray that I will remain committed to learning about You and Your ways, and putting what I learn into practice so that I can be a doer of Your word, and not just a hearer.  I pray for those that have struggled with this as I have.  My prayer is that they will be filled with Your love and that You will break their heart for what breaks Yours.  I pray that we all share in each other's joys as well as each other's grief, and that we will carry each other's burdens in our hearts so that we can lift each other up and be a blessing to each other.  I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ.  Amen!



God Bless!!!