The Strength Of The Unit

There is a television show that I watch called "The Unit".  It's made up of a team of Special Forces soldiers that take on impossible missions.  They are only successful because they take their individual talents and skills and apply them together as one Unit.  Each member on the team are experts in their own unique way.  Success in their individual expertise and role is necessary for accomplishing the mission.  If one falters in his role in the Unit, the whole Unit suffers, and so they work together to keep each member strong and engaged.  

There is no competition between Unit members because the purpose of the Unit is the mission and it's success. 

In a battle fighting an enemy, you want the soilders around you to be strong, engaged and  doing their individual part in the battle. Because if their not, it leaves you all vulnerable, and you all fail. 

 We don't benefit from competition with each other.   Our biggest weapon against the enemy is the strength of the person and persons fighting next to you.  Encouraging and strengthening them with your words and actions should be your priority.  If they succeed, you do too!  And it in no way diminishes your value in the army, in fact, it enhances it!

Paul says in 1 Cor. 3:3; "for you are still fleshly.  For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshy, and are you not walking like mere men?"

I know some people that just cannot say anything encouraging and affirming to anyone else.  They seem to believe that if they built someone else up, that would in some weird, warped way, diminish them!

 They place themselves in competition against a fellow soldier. They are fighting the war as an individual and they are showing their own insecurities, low self esteem and fears.  

The Scriptures give us some examples of this, as unfortunately, it seems to plague us as humans beings from the very beginning:

Joseph, and the jealousies of his brothers, who resented the attention and affirmation of Jacob with Joseph.  

Cain and Able, the first brothers.  Cain became jealous and resentful that God liked the sacrifice of Able more than his.  Instead of  giving a better sacrifice the next time and learning from his error, he decides that killing Able solves his problem and he doesn't need to change.

 Jacob, striving against Esau for the higher blessing and using manipulation and deception to achieve it.

Paul and his rebuke of those who "measure themselves by themselves" and  then would position themselves against Paul, whom he refers to as the "super apostles".  Those who also preached the gospel "for selfish gain".

The deeds of the flesh; "enmities, strife, jealousy, dissentions, factions, envying.....become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.." Gal 5

We can walk in the Spirit and not in the above manifestations of the flesh.  However, that is not enough to create a strong and capable army. We must seek to build up, strengthen, encourage and think "of one another as more important than ourselves".

Not being able to offer encouragement and affirmation to someone else is a sign your insecure, threatened and walking in the flesh.  You don't want another brother/sister to feel empowered because that would harm your sucess and self esteeem.  How ridiculous!

 We are only as strong as our parts. We're not in this for ourselves, our own glory, our own self worth and esteem.  

We're part of a Kingdom,  a Divine Unit, called out to a battle that requires  that we EACH are successful in our roles. 

  We are equally valued, esteemed and loved.  There is no favoritism with God.

Since we have this as Truth, we need act like it and make encouraging one another a priority every opportunity we have.