We Are All Individuals, Together
In May 1968, the U.S. submarine Scorpion disappeared on its way back to Newport News after a tour of duty in the North Atlantic. Although the navy knew the sub’s last reported location, it had no idea what had happened to the Scorpion.
The Navy had only the vaguest sense of how far it might have traveled after it had last made radio contact. As a result, THE AREA WHERE THE NAVY BEGAN SEARCHING FOR THE SCORPION WAS A CIRCLE 20 MILES WIDE, AND MANY THOUSANDS OF FEET DEEP.
YOU COULD NOT IMAGINE A MORE HOPELESS TASK. The only possible solution, one might have thought, was to track down three or four top experts on submarines and ocean currents, ask them where they thought the Scorpion was, and search there.
But, as James Surowiecki recounts in his book THE WISDOM OF CROWDS, a naval officer named John Craven had a different plan. Craven decided to assemble a team of men with a wide range of knowledge – specifically, PEOPLE WHO KNEW THINGS HE DID NOT.
Craven assembled a group that included mathematicians, submarine specialists, and salvage men. Instead of asking them to consult with each other to come up with an answer, he asked each of them to offer their best thinking about how likely each of the scenarios was.
Needless to say, THERE WAS NO SINGLE THEORY THAT COULD TELL CRAVEN WHERE THE MISSING SCORPION HAD COME TO REST. Each person on the team thought about why the submarine ran into trouble: its speed as it sank, the steepness of its descent, and so forth.
But Craven believed that if he put all the answers together, building a composite picture of how the Scorpion died, he’d have a good idea. And that’s exactly what he did. He took all the individual theories, and made A COLLECTIVE ESTIMATE OF WHERE THE SUB WAS.
THE LOCATION THAT CRAVEN CAME UP WITH, BASED ON THE COLLECTIVE THEORY OF THE GROUP, WAS NOT A SPOT THAT ANY INDIVIDUAL MEMBER OF THE GROUP HAD PREDICTED. IN FACT, NO INDIVIDUAL THEORIES WERE EVEN ALL THAT CLOSE.
Five months after the Scorpion disappeared, a navy ship found it. It was 220 yards from where Craven’s group had said it would. What’s astonishing about this story is that the closest individual theory would have placed the sub almost a mile from where it was found.
It was really just tiny scraps of data. No one knew why the submarine sank, no one had any idea how fast it was traveling or how steeply it fell to the ocean floor. And yet even though no one in the group knew ANY of these things, THE GROUP AS A WHOLE NEW THEM ALL.
———————
THE WAY CRAVEN WORKED WITH HIS TEAM ENABLED THEM TO FUNCTION BETTER TOGETHER AS A GROUP THAN ANY SINGLE INDIVIDUAL COULD HAVE ON THEIR OWN. But how? How did Craven work with this group to ensure they were better together than apart?
First, Craven made sure he was working with experts. EACH AND EVERY PERSON HE BROUGHT ONTO THE TEAM HAD SOMETHING UNIQUE TO OFFER THE GROUP. Each was encouraged to use their specific field of knowledge – and, crucially, ONLY that knowledge.
Next, Craven MADE CERTAIN HIS TEAM WAS COMPRISED OF A DIVERSE GROUP OF PEOPLE, ACTING INDEPENDENTLY. He was sure to have people who thought differently from one another. And each thought about the issue without knowledge of what others thought.
Last, Craven AGGREGATED ALL THE SEPARATE, INDIVIDUAL THEORIES INTO A SINGLE, COLLECTIVE ONE. Craven used a complicated statistical model (Bayesian Aggregation, if you’re curious), but the point is it allowed the team to think separately, but act together.
What does this have to do with being Christian? Everything. Remember on our first Sunday together, when we talked about what it’s like to lose your keys? And how, WHEN WE THINK WE’VE LOST GOD IN OUR LIVES FOR A LITTLE WHILE, IT’S ACTUALLY GOD WHO LOOKS?
WHEN WE TRY TO LIVE IN GOD’S WILL, EACH OF US IS USEFUL TO GOD. When we pray to God we can be useful. One of God’s keys. Pray that you’ll unlock joy in someone’s heart when they’re having a bad day. Like St Francis, pray you can bring love where there is hate.
GOD’S GRACE IS AVAILABLE TO US ALWAYS. BUT WE HAVE TO WANT TO ACT IN HIS WILL, NOT SELF-WILL. WE HAVE TO SEEK GOD’S WILL. With God in our lives, we can be made useful, like a key. We can be used to unlock more of God all around us, all the time.
God wants to use us as keys to open hearts that are locked up tight against him. This is our highest honor as Christians. OUR HIGHEST HONOR AS CHRISTIANS IS TO BECOME ONE OF GOD’S KEYS.
AND HERE’S THE BEST PART. WE CAN BE USEFUL TO GOD IN WAYS WE DON’T YET UNDERSTAND. Remember when we talked about how living in Self-Will is a failure of imagination? How we want to play in mud puddles when God knows we’ll like the beach?
JUST AS FOCUSING ON WHAT WE THINK WE WANT IN OUR LIVES IS A FAILURE OF IMAGINATION – PLAYING IN A MUD PUDDLE WHEN GOD KNOWS WE’D PREFER THE BEACH – SO ACTING IN SELF-WILL ALLOWS US TO DO ONLY WHAT WE THINK IS USEFUL.
———————
In today’s scripture reading from 1 Thessalonians 5:9-15, we are reminded to “encourage one another and build each other up,” to “acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you.” To “live in peace with each other” (verses 11-13).
We are told to “warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else” (verses 14-15).
In other words, we are called to ACT IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOD’S WILL, FOLLOWING THE EXAMPLE OF JESUS. In fact, this passage has a helpful list of specific actions we can take to help us be more useful to God.
The Bible gives us specific guidance on how to act with other Christians. In fact, it gives us guidance on HOW TO BE SUPPORTIVE TO OTHERS WHEN THEY NEED US, AND ALSO HOW TO REACT TO THOSE TRYING TO SUPPORT US WHEN WE ARE THE ONES IN NEED.
First, we are told to encourage one another, and build each other up. Trying to walk in the Light of God can be difficult work. It doesn’t always come easy to each of us, all the time. WE ARE CALLED TO RECOGNIZE THAT WE NEED EACH OTHER.
In Hebrews 10:24-25, we are asked to “24 …consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another…” This is what we do every time we gather. THIS IS BASECAMP.
WHILE OURS IS A FAITH BUILT ON AN INDIVIDUAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, ON WHAT HAPPENS IN EACH AND EVERY ONE OF OUR HEARTS AS WE PRAY TO BE USEFUL AND WALK IN HIS LIGHT, IT IS NOT EASY WORK, AND NO ONE IS CALLED TO DO IT ALONE.
Take this passage from Ecclesiastes 4:9-12. “9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: 10 If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.”
11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? 12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” We weave ourselves together, like a cord of many strands. Or like steel.
DO YOU KNOW WHY STEEL IS SO MUCH STRONGER THAN THE METALS THAT GO INTO IT? Steel is an alloy, which means a combination of metal with other chemical elements. In the case of making steel, the alloy is iron, made with the addition of carbon, usually from coal.
Alloys, like steel, are generally harder than pure metals. They are made up of atoms of different sizes. This means that the layers of atoms cannot slide over each other easily, making the whole alloy much stronger than any of the pure metals that the alloy contains in isolation.
WE ARE STRONGER TOGETHER. BUT, JUST AS STEEL IS A STRONGER METAL THAN ANY OF THE INGREDIENTS THAT GO INTO IT, SO WE AS A BODY OF THE CHURCH ARE MORE THAN THE SUM OF OUR PARTS.
———————
For that to work, it gets a bit more difficult than we first imagine. Because it’s not only about what we do when we’re in a position to be able to help others, when we might be in a better spot than someone else is at a given moment. It’s also about what we do when we need help.
FOR US TO BE STRONGER TOGETHER, WE ARE CALLED NOT ONLY TO HELP OTHERS, BUT TO BE ABLE TO GRACIOUSLY RECEIVE HELP WHEN WE NEED IT OURSELVES. This is the harder part. This is the part I myself find very hard to do.
Let's go back to 1 Thessalonians 5:9-15. In verse 11 we are told “acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13 Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work.”
Let that sink in for a moment. If those among you admonish you in the name of the Lord, we are called not only to “acknowledge” their “hard work,” also in fact also to “hold them in the highest regard,” “in love,” “because of their work.”
Phew. If you’re anything like me, you don’t like asking for help. And if you’re anything like me, YOU MIGHT LIKE “GETTING HELP” MUCH, MUCH LESS WHEN YOU’RE BEING OFFERED HELP YOU MIGHT NOT THINK YOU NEED.
This is especially difficult because our Self-Will gets hurt when people offer us a helping hand we don’t think we need. Here we are, going about our business, thinking we’re in control and running the show. And then along comes someone else to suggest we do something different?
Now, I’m certainly not saying that all advice or criticism we get from someone else is helpful. IN FACT, FAR FROM IT. MOST THINGS MOST PEOPLE SAY TO OTHER PEOPLE ARE NOT HELPFUL AT ALL. If your friend tells you “you drive like my Grandma,” please don’t speed up.
However, what this passage from 1 Thessalonians 5:9-15 reminds us is that EACH OF US IS MADE WITH THE CAPACITY FOR GOD’S WILL INSIDE US. AND AS PEOPLE WHO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, WE ARE CAPABLE OF HELPING OTHERS OUT OF LOVE.
Crucially, THIS ONLY WORKS IF WE ACT OUT OF LOVE FOR THE OTHER PERSON, NOT OURSELVES. Putting someone down because you want to feel better yourself? Doesn’t work. Offering someone advice when you don’t understand their situation? NOPE. Worse.
But we know how this feels in real life, right? It’s when we sit someone down we genuinely care about, and we talk to them openly, honestly, and out of love. We don’t tell them what we think is right, or leave them with the impression that it’s a “because I said so” kind of situation.
Instead, we pray. And then we pray some more. And if, out of love, slowly, God makes us feel that something should be said, we APPROACH OUT OF LOVE FOR THE OTHER PERSON, NOT TO ACHIEVE SIMPLY WHAT WE WANT.
“You need to stop driving like an idiot because you’re going to wreck and we can’t afford to fix this car up any more” is a very different approach than “please, you’re going to hurt yourself, or someone else, and I love you too much to let that happen.” See the difference?
But again, coming to others – while difficult – is much, MUCH easier than being the person in this example who’s the bonkers driver. But we are called to “hold [those who admonish us] in the highest regard,” “in love,” “because of their work.”
IT IS ALWAYS, ALWAYS EASIER TO ASSUME PEOPLE “ADMONISH” YOU OUT OF THEIR OWN SELF-WILL, BECAUSE MOST OF THE TIME, THAT IS WHAT PEOPLE DO. It is often the case that others suggest you do something differently because they want you to.
But remember that each of us has the capacity for allowing God’s Will into our lives. And that means that when someone is coming to you out of love, God calls us to be open to what they tell us. To be honest about our own situation. And to be willing to make a change.
Again, we are told in 1 Thessalonians to “warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.”
SERVING EACH OTHER OUT OF LOVE, OUT OF TRYING TO LIVE IN GOD’S WILL AND NOT SERVE OUR OWN SELFISH DESIRES, IS HOW WE BEST SERVE EACH OTHER AS A COMMUNITY – NOT ONLY A CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY, BUT IN FACT THE ENTIRE WORLD.
Hebrews 12:14-15 tells us “14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”
We “live in peace with everyone” so that “no one falls short of the grace of God.” WE CREATE AND MAINTAIN PEACE BY SERVING EACH OTHER OUT OF LOVE, BY ASKING GOD TO BRING TO LIFE THE LAW OF GRACE IN OUR EVERYDAY LIVES.
Notice that this doesn’t mean avoiding any and all conflict, at all costs, all the time. Not at all. But when we feel that we must offer help to someone who isn’t asking for it, we are called to first pray for guidance, then pray some more, and only then act, so that we act out of love.
———————
WHAT, YOU MIGHT ASK, DOES ANY OF THIS HAVE TO DO WITH THE NAVAL OFFICER JOHN CRAVEN, AND THE STORY I TOLD ABOUT THE LOST SCORPION SUBMARINE IN 1968? I’m glad you asked, because I sure would like to tell you!
Remember: John Craven gathered together for his team PEOPLE WHO KNEW THINGS HE DIDN’T. EACH AND EVERY PERSON HE BROUGHT ONTO THE TEAM HAD SOMETHING UNIQUE TO OFFER THE GROUP.
Craven MADE CERTAIN HIS TEAM WAS COMPRISED OF A DIVERSE GROUP OF PEOPLE, ACTING INDEPENDENTLY. AND HE AGGREGATED ALL THE SEPARATE, INDIVIDUAL THEORIES INTO A SINGLE, COLLECTIVE ONE.
We are told in Romans 12:4-5 “4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”
Each of us, here in this very room, knows what no one else knows. What no one else CAN POSSIBLY KNOW. We have all had experiences no one else has had. That no one else CAN POSSIBLY HAVE HAD. Because NO ONE IN THIS ROOM IS YOU.
EACH OF US HAS LIVED OUR OWN LIVES. OUR OWN, UNIQUE LIVES. With all its ups and downs. All its joys and concerns. “Of course,” says the person without faith. “We are all the product of a random, absurd cosmos, without meaning. Our differences make us do evil.”
My friends, OUR DIFFERENCES ARE EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED TO HELP KEEP EACH OTHER LIVING THE WAY. One of you sitting here IS THE ONLY KEY to strengthening another’s faith. One of you sitting here IS THE ONLY KEY to unlock a new potential in someone.
One of you sitting here could quite literally BE THE ONLY EXISTING KEY TO UNLOCK JOY AND PEACE IN SOMEONE ELSE’S LIFE. AND HERE’S THE BEST PART ABOUT TRYING TO LIVE IN GOD’S WILL INSTEAD OF SELF-WILL: WE DON’T HAVE TO PLAN TO BE HELPFUL.
WE HAVE NO IDEA WHEN, OR HOW GOD MIGHT USE US TO HELP ANOTHER PERSON. ALL WE CAN DO IS PREPARE OURSELVES, THROUGH OUR INDIVIDUAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH GOD, TO BE READY FOR THE MOMENTS WHEN THEY COME.
And those moments WILL come. We’re told in 1 Peter 4:8-10 “8 …love each other deeply… 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10…use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
USE WHATEVER GIFT YOU HAVE RECEIVED TO SERVE OTHERS, AS FAITHFUL STEWARDS OF GOD’S GRACE IN ITS VARIOUS FORMS. WE LOVE UP TO GOD SO THAT WE MAY BETTER LOVE OUT TO EACH OTHER. That’s it. This is the meaning of life, plain and simple.
