The late Frank Sinatra sang many famous songs during his more
than 60-year career as an entertainer, but one of the most memorable is “My
Way,” which he released in 1969. Today, more than four decades later, it seems
many people embrace “I did it my way” as their personal motto.
There’s a lot to be said about individual achievement – the
resolve, determination, perseverance and single-mindedness often involved in
attaining lofty goals and aspirations. In a sense, the Declaration of
Independence set the stage for this philosophy when the leaders of 13 colonies
agreed in 1776 it was time to “do it their way,” apart from England, by forming
the United States.
But there also are limitations to individual initiative. I
was reminded of this while viewing the film, “The Good Lie,” the story of a
small group of Sudanese refugees who fled tyranny in their homeland and
ultimately found a new home for themselves in Kansas City, Mo. At the
conclusion of the movie, an African proverb was displayed that well-summarized
their amazing pilgrimage:
“If you want to go fast, go alone.
If you want to go far, go together.”
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| In sports, and much of life, we can achieve much more together than we can on our own. |
We see the truth of this adage exhibited in every area of
endeavor. Where would comedian Bud Abbott have been without his sidekick, Lou
Costello? What would Orville Wright have accomplished without the aid of his
brother, Wilbur? Working out of a one-car garage, William Hewlett and David
Packard teamed with others to form a company, Hewlett-Packard, that one day
would become the world’s leader in manufacturing personal computers.
In track and field, we see sprinters competing on their own,
but usually in longer events, groups of runners compete together, sometimes as
teams. We see stock car drivers maneuvering their cars at high speeds on their
own, but if you’re traveling on a commercial jet from coast to coast, you want
a crew of people in the cockpit.
We may never achieve the notoriety of famous entertainers,
athletes or entrepreneurs, but we’d all be wise to approach life from a “we did
it our way” perspective than the standoffish “my way.” This truth is expressed
repeatedly throughout the Bible, a clear warning against going it alone, urging
us instead to seek support, encouragement and strength from one another.
Proverbs 27:17 declares, “As
iron sharpens iron, so one man (woman) sharpens another.” In another of the
so-called “wisdom books,” King Solomon of Israel observes,
“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their
work. If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!... Though one may be overpowered, two can defend
themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes
4:9-12).
Ironically, it was when they failed to heed this advice that
Solomon and his father, King David, suffered their greatest failures.
The spiritual life, I’ve discovered, also proves the “go
fast, go alone…go far, go together” principle. People make
professions of faith and appear to be making rapid progress spiritually, but
because they don't connect with other believers, their growth eventually
stagnates and over time they disappear from the scene entirely.
This is one reason we’re admonished, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and
good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of
doing, but let us encourage one another…” (Hebrews 10:24-25).
The Bible describes those who follow Jesus Christ as the “body
of believers” – “you are the body of
Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27). Just as
even healthy human organs will die apart from the body, the most determined, well-intentioned
believers will flounder without consistent fellowship with other devoted
followers of Christ.
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