“There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of working, but it is the same God who inspires them all in every one. . . .

“All these are inspired by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. . . .

“As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ On the contrary, the parts of the body which seem to be weaker and indispensable, and those parts of the body which parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require” (1 Corinthians 12:4-6, 11, 20-24 RSV).

Suppose you are in the middle of an orchard, it’s time to eat, and you are getting hungry. How many organs come into operation, and how do they work together? First the stomach sends a message to the mind, and the mind tells the eyes to look around for the trees laden with apples, pears, figs, plums, and so forth. But, to do this job, the eyes depend on the legs to take you to the trees. Then the mind directs the eyes and hands to the fruit that you decide to pick. The eyes examine the fruit to make sure they are not wormy. When the food reaches the mouth, the nose with its sense of smell and the tongue with its taste buds must approve it or reject it. If it is accepted, then the teeth begin to work with the help of the tongue. What would happen if these organs suddenly refused to work together, in perfect, mutual cooperation, and if each decided to choose its own place and operation regardless of the strict interdependence that has been assigned to them in the body? The result would be confusion, chaos, and death.

There is in Plutarch’s Lives an allegory in which the active members of the body - such as the hands, elbows, and feet - decided to get rid of the belly on the pretext that the stomach is a useless organ, since it does not produce, but only consumes. So they killed the stomach and, as a consequence, they also died. This was a favorite parable with the political philosophers who lived in the days of Plutarch, a Greek biographer and essayist (about a.d. 46 to a.d. 120).

Human society was often compared to the human body. It was understood that each one of its members is endowed with a specific function, and all of them are bound together in a relationship of mutual dependence.

This story was probably familiar to the apostle Paul, whose well-stored mind was able to quote Greek authors (Acts 17:28) when he had to talk to the Greeks. In comparing the church, Christ’s spiritual body, to a human living being the apostle emphasized the interdependence of the members. Though we are endowed with a variety of gifts and responsibilities, he said, we all form a compact unit. These are his words:

“Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every joint with which it is supplied, when each part is working properly, makes bodily growth and upbuilds itself in love” (Ephesians 4:15, 16, RSV).

In this symbolic representation, there is no room for the spirit of supremacy, self-exaltation, or independence. There is perfect interdependent operation under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. No one is tempted to act as though he wanted to say: “If I cannot be the driver, then I don’t want to be on the bus.” Each one is happy to remain content in his or her place and do the individual work assigned. There is no mutual interference, but there is mutual cooperation. Thus the door is closed against confusion and disorder.

“God has so adjusted the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior part, that there may be no discord [or division] in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together” (1 Corinthians 12:24, 25, RSV).

By comparing the church to the human body, the Lord wants us to understand that we have been put together so that we may work together, feeling our dependence upon one another. This is why, in the plan of God, church organization is a must. Read Ephesians 4:16.

The war between Israel and the Amalekites shows the importance of close cooperation for the success of any enterprise. While Joshua stood at the head of the armed men fighting with the enemy, Moses stood on the top of a hill with the rod of God in his hand.

“Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands grew weary; so they took a stone and put under him, and he sat upon it, and Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. . . . And Joshua mowed down Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword” (Exodus 17:11-13, RSV).

When the Lord led the people of Israel out of Egypt, it was not His plan that each individual should try to reach Canaan alone, as if each one should or could find his or her own way through the desert. They were to move from place to place together, as an undivided company. Anyone who decided to drift away from the company would be in danger of perishing in the desert. Let us learn a lesson from the wilderness wandering!

When the Israelites wanted to spy out the city of Jericho, Joshua sent two spies. What was the reason for sending two?

1. Two can see better than one. Joshua 2:1.

2. The report of only one person may be incomplete, biased, or distorted. In case there are two or three witnesses they will be very careful in presenting their reports, because they know that their statements will be checked against each other.

3. The two spies lodged in the home of a harlot. If only one had been there, who would testify in his behalf?

4. If two go out together, they can counsel together, pray together, and help each other. When facing fear or discouragement, two feel stronger than one.

5. On such a dangerous mission, if one loses his life, the other still has a chance to return alive, bringing back a report.

6. Some of these circumstances explain the reason why John the Baptist sent two of his disciples to Jesus with a question that had begun to bother him. Read Matthew 11:2, 3.

Among the early Christians, the two-by-two method worked as an ambulatory school. An experienced worker and a younger brother formed a team of two and worked together. When the younger one had gained enough experience, he became the instructor of a new apprentice that was assigned to him. In this way, the teams kept multiplying.

A father wanted to teach his sons the importance of staying together and working together. So he handed them a bundle of green rods tied together in the form of an old-fashioned broom and challenged them to try and break the bunch. They all tried without success. Then he pulled the rods apart and broke them one by one before the eyes of his sons. They understood the lesson.

“Two are better than one. . . . If they fall, one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up. Again, if two lie together, they are warm; but how can one be warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him. A threefold cord is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, RSV).

Cooperation can accomplish many things which individuals cannot do alone. This is what the Bible teaches. Experience tells us that success in any enterprise depends on cooperation. But you must use your better wisdom to choose the right company. If you want to go upward, don’t associate with those who will only pull you downward.

On a videotape I was once watching, two foxes were working together. They were hunting. And I was surprised to see how smart they were, doing a professional job. There were a few geese in the middle of a lake, and the hungry foxes anticipated a good meal. So one of them started running back and forth in a semicircle on one edge of the lake. And the scared geese swam toward the other edge of the lake, where the other fox was lying in wait for them. I don’t have to tell you the rest of the story.

In Australia, a man who took interest in the behavior of animals reported the following:

“In front of our home there is a small tidal stream where birds come to catch fish. We often wonder how the fish manage to survive with so many hazards about them. The birds combine their forces, each cooperating with the other to obtain a meal. Though greed and selfishness are still in evidence, there is much cooperation among the birds. It is not unusual to see six or more cormorants all busily diving together in search of food. They appear to form a semicircle and drive the fish ahead of themselves, often into shallow waters, where the fish become easy prey. Other birds, such as cranes and pelicans, also work together, probably for the same purpose.”

A few years ago, in one of the Pacific countries, I was watching the behavior of the poultry at sundown. While the rooster and the hens were all trying to reach the highest branches of the tallest tree, a hen with two little chicks came to a small tree. She got on one of the lower branches immediately and started calling her chicks. The two little ones fluttered and fluttered repeatedly, in an attempt to reach the branch where the mother hen was. Finally, one of them made it. After a little while, the other one made it, too. Without delay the mother hen left her two fledglings in that shrub and made her way to the top of the tall tree. The two chicks - far apart from each other in the shrub - kept chirping and chirping for some time, in evident distress. Then one of them flew over to where the other one was, and I thought they were going to nestle down together nicely among the leaves. But they didn’t. Instead, they began to fight. So I left the two foolish little things and went inside the house. Night was coming on. It was getting cold. The sky was covered with dark clouds and it looked like rain was coming.

After a while I went outside to see what the two chicks were doing. Under the pressure of circumstances, they had learned to be wiser. They had made up before long. And now they were snuggling down together and whispering to each other like a courting couple. I said to myself, “Where is a common need and danger, even dumb animals learn a lesson of wisdom, togetherness, mutual sympathy, and cooperation, casting in their lot with one another.” What a lesson for us!

One day, while I was walking along the seashore, a group of five or six fishermen arrived and set about launching their heavy boats. Joining forces, they hauled their boats into the water, one by one, in a short time. As I was watching them, I thought: What would happen if, instead of acting in cooperation, each one of them would try to move his own boat without the help of the others? Or if, instead of pulling in the same direction, each one would pull in a divergent direction? Evidently such an independent attitude, characterized by self-sufficiency, would only bring negative and even disastrous results. The mistake which could not be expected from those fishers of fish, because they were neither insane nor drunk, is the mistake that we, fishers of men and women, are so often tempted to make, though we believe we are perfectly sane and sober. The Word of God warns us:

“Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes” (Deuteronomy 12:8).

‘Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility” (1 Peter 5:5).

We have reached a time when, in the interest of our survival, we should be willing to pull together in the same direction as pointed out in the Word of God. Whoever wants to go his or her own way through the perils of these last days will certainly get lost. Heavenly wisdom teaches that our survival depends on unity and cooperation.