Teamwork

As some of you may know, I play basketball in the Norwalk city league with a group of guys from Calvary Baptist church. I only knew two of the guys on the team before the one practice we had prior to the start of the season, and it took a bit for us to build any chemistry. The first few games saw us winning thanks to whoever taking over that particular game. In fact, up to last night we had lost only one game and had won 5.

So last night we went into the game, and due to some injuries and other commitments, we had only five of us at the game. To add onto that, the game was at the old rec (Monroe St. Gym) that is still under construction. They are putting windows in, which right now are covered by plywood. So, the effect is that it’s freezing in the main entry area, and it's overcompensated with the heaters running very hot – making the court almost a sauna. Oh, and did I mention the other team had 9 guys present?

So we play the game and work very hard to keep it close or take the lead whenever we can. We get through by using our time-outs and working together as a team. By this point in the season we all know our roles on the team and run the defense very well to the point where we all can communicate very well and let each other know where the offensive players are. The other team, though, didn’t have that same chemistry. From the outset of the game they were complaining to one another and definitely didn’t trust each other at all. If one guy got beat no one came to help.

So we come down to about 5 minutes left to go in the game. They had been trying to run on us to make us tired and it had been pretty effective, although we were tied at this point. That is when our teamwork took over the game. Our team fought through the tiredness and minor pains from the game and worked hard on offense. We looked for one another, and if someone was making shots they he got the ball until he stopped making it. Defense was also very tough, and we managed a good number of steals. The opposing team, on the other hand, fell apart. Their nagging at each other came to a boiling point. Guys on their team were yelling at each other on the bench, and puling themselves out of the game because they didn’t want to play with one guy, etc. They ended up all trying to win the game themselves, and that ended any chance they had. We won the game by 8 points, a well-fought victory for our team.

I mention this because as Christians we’re all a team. One person may take the lead from time to time to get the team over a hurdle, but everyone is important. We all have a role in order for the team to be successful. It doesn’t matter if the odds are stacked against us, the team as a whole – when working together – can overcome any obstacle. My question for you is, which team would you rather play on? The team that has everyone working together towards a common goal, or one where everyone is playing his own game? This is the game that we’re all playing every day, the game of life. What is your role? What team are you on? How hard are you willing to work? If you haven’t’ already, join the team! Ask me any time, I’ll help you find what you need to do to get on the Christian team.