This being the week of the presidential election and the week after Club Week, I want to discuss what it means to be a member of a team. Teams come in various forms — sports teams, of course, but also academic teams, social clubs, professional organizations, and even churches and nations. Though diverse, these teams still have many features in common, and when they function well they can enjoy and share numerous blessings.
Teams rise and fall together, and to succeed, each team member must do his or her part to the best of his or her ability for the good of the whole group.
In my favorite book of the “Harry Potter” series, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” the Irish Quidditch team defeats the Bulgarian Quidditch team at the Quidditch World Cup, even though Bulgaria’s team features Viktor Krum, the greatest Seeker on earth. Why? Because the Bulgarian team relies on the strengths of one player, while the Irish team relies on the strengths of every player. Like the Irish Quidditch team, the teams we are a part of are more likely to succeed if all of us give our best effort instead of depending solely on the efforts of one or two all-star members.
Another feature of the Irish Quidditch team that contributed to its victory was its unity. The players’ moves were seamless, with the main ball, the Quaffle, passing easily from one member to the next, almost like a perfectly choreographed dance. Their seamless plays were not the product of chance. The Irish teammates had practiced and played together enough that they knew how to play as one entity and present a united front when faced with challenges. Our teams probably are not flying around on brooms and tossing a Quaffle back and forth, but we likewise have to work together as a single entity, moving toward the same goals, if we want to accomplish our objectives.
Working together as a unit often means surrendering our personal agendas for the good of the entire team. The cliche that “there is no ‘I’ in ‘team'” is true, and if we let our competing visions or selfish desires get in the way of the best interests of the group, we are going to spend more time disputing than we are achieving. James 3:16 (English Standard Version) tells us that “where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder,” meaning that if we want order and progress, we must lay aside our private wants when they conflict with what is needful for everybody.
In addition to putting aside our own agendas for the team, we must also learn to submit to our leaders, even if we disagree with them. According to Romans 13:1 (ESV), we must “be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” Case in point: Many of us may not like that our current president was re-elected, but Scripture shows that we still owe him our respect. Without respect for and obedience to our leaders, chaos results. By contrast, submitting to our leaders helps maintain order and promote progress, and what’s not happy about that?
