{"id":30994,"date":"2022-09-10T15:12:39","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:12:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/3-life-changing-effects-of-thinking-in-terms-of-we-instead-of-i\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T15:12:39","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:12:39","slug":"3-life-changing-effects-of-thinking-in-terms-of-we-instead-of-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/3-life-changing-effects-of-thinking-in-terms-of-we-instead-of-i\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Life-Changing Effects of Thinking in Terms of \u201cWe\u201d Instead of \u201cI\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
John Ruddock photo – Unsplash <\/p>\n

By Michael Kelley<\/em><\/p>\n

The book and later movie, Moneyball<\/em>, tells the true story of the Oakland A\u2019s baseball team and their general manager, Billy Beane, who came to a crossroads in the way the team had to approach Major League Baseball. At that time, the A\u2019s had a minuscule payroll compared to the large market clubs, and things were only getting more lopsided. The bigger clubs had more and more money and therefore could buy more and more players. Beane had to find a way to manufacture wins with his limited resources.<\/p>\n

Enter Peter Brandt, a young baseball executive who proposed an entirely new approach at the time. According to Brandt, all of baseball was making a fundamental mistake in their thinking about the game. Teams were focused on paying the best players, but Brandt claimed that using data, the A\u2019s could instead focus on paying for wins and runs. The result was a roster of no-name players who had the unique ability to get on base better than most, and an unlikely playoff run as a result.<\/p>\n

A Lifeway Research survey discovered that 65% of Protestant churchgoers say they can walk with God without other believers, with 36% agreeing strongly. Click To Tweet <\/p>\n

Now there are all kinds of lessons from this paradigm-shifting season\u2014lessons about leadership, about data, about innovation, and creativity. But there is also a lesson about team.<\/p>\n

The A\u2019s were focused not on finding the players who would win batting titles or home-run records or strike out tallies; they were solely focused on what an individual player could contribute to the team in order to win. It was, in many ways, a \u201cwe\u201d mentality rather than an \u201cI\u201d mentality in which each player knew their particular role.<\/p>\n

We seldom have a \u201cwe\u201d mentality, even when we should. Even when we are part of a team, part of an organization, contributing to a greater goal, we often still think in terms of \u201cI\u201d\u2014even in the church, the one place in which we should most have a \u201cwe\u201d mentality. A Lifeway Research survey discovered that 65% of Protestant churchgoers say they can walk with God without other believers, with 36% agreeing strongly. Also, less than half (47%) of Protestant churchgoers told Lifeway Research they \u201cintentionally spend time with other believers in order to help them grow in their faith.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Less than half (47%) of Protestant churchgoers told Lifeway Research they \u201cintentionally spend time with other believers in order to help them grow in their faith.\u201d Click To Tweet <\/p>\n

But the Bible largely treats us with a \u201cwe\u201d mentality. Though it\u2019s true Scripture addresses us as individuals, much more often does it address the entire people of God. Here is one specific example:<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God\u2019s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy\u201d<\/em> (1 Peter 2:9-10).<\/p>\n

Peter here is addressing the church. He is stating their corporate identity. He is not answering the question of who \u201cyou\u201d are as individuals, but instead who \u201cyou\u201d are collectively. It makes me wonder, in light of how much we have the \u201cI\u201d mentality, how things would be different if we thought in terms of \u201cus\u201d more. At least three effects come to mind:<\/p>\n

1. We would bear with one another.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cBe completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all\u201d<\/em> (Ephesians 4:2-6).<\/p>\n

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See also  The Power of the Ordinary Moments<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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What does it mean to bear with one another? It doesn\u2019t mean just putting up with someone else; instead, it means recognizing that every single person we interact with on a daily basis is bearing their own burden. They have struggles, anxieties, priorities, fears\u2014just like we do. And when you have all those things, you tend to think only of yourself. But a \u201cwe\u201d mentality makes us bear with one another; it makes us patient with those around us, making allowances for them, and considering them above ourselves.<\/p>\n

2. We would confess to one another.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cTherefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective\u201d<\/em> (James 5:16).<\/p>\n

Often times it is easier to receive a confession rather than give one; to bear a burden rather than relinquish one to be borne by someone else. To receive someone\u2019s authentic confession\u2014be it a confession of sin, of fear, of doubt, of whatever\u2014requires that the other person trust me. It actually does not require that I trust them. But the other way around? Well, that\u2019s more difficult because I must humble myself under the weight of that burden that is too great for one person to carry. With a \u201cwe\u201d mentality, each of us recognizes that the burdens we have in our personal lives are meant to be communally lifted. We recognize we are in each other\u2019s lives as vehicles of healing.<\/p>\n

With a \u201cwe\u201d mentality, each of us recognizes that the burdens we have in our personal lives are meant to be communally lifted. \u2014 @_MichaelKelley Click To Tweet <\/p>\n

3. We would feel with one another.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cRejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited\u201d<\/em> (Romans 12:15-16).<\/p>\n

Oh, how easy it is to keep each other at an arm\u2019s distance. To acknowledge someone else\u2019s great joys or great sadness, and yet not really feel it. Perhaps that\u2019s because of our own insecurity\u2014we find it difficult to rejoice with someone else because we feel slighted because things have gone well for them. And we similarly find it difficult to truly weep with someone else because doing so allows into our minds the possibility that we, too, will someday be the one weeping. And yet, all of this distance has at its source the \u201cI\u201d mentality. Not the \u201cwe.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you are a Christian, you have a \u201cwe\u201d identity in as much as a \u201cme\u201d identity. Don\u2019t miss the blessing of living in the \u201cwe.\u201d \u2014 @_MichaelKelley Click To Tweet <\/p>\n

The \u201cwe\u201d feels. Laughs. Cries. Celebrates. Mourns. Together. If you are a Christian, then you are a child of God, but that\u2019s not all you are. You have a \u201cwe\u201d identity in as much as a \u201cme\u201d identity. Don\u2019t miss the blessing of living in the \u201cwe.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Michael Kelley<\/h2>\n

@_MichaelKelley<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Michael is the former vice president of church ministries for Lifeway Christian Resources.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n