7/28/2024
Psalm 133:1 How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!
Today I want to speak on the virtue of cooperation. We don’t always go to the thought that cooperation is a virtue, but what a gift from God that truly is. Cooperation is a key virtue that involves working together to achieve a common goal or task. It is about sharing the load, joining with others to do things that cannot be done as an individual. When we cooperate, we are willing to follow rules that keep everyone safe and happy. We offer our help and ideas freely, and we are open to the perspectives and ideas of others. We are also willing to disagree peacefully and civilly.
Most things around the house are easier with two people. The extra set of eyes, ears, hands, and brains makes things happen faster and more effectively. But cooperation is not just about achieving practical goals, but also about building relationships and communities. Jesus was the model of cooperation as he grew his ministry. He began his ministry by enlisting the help of 12 disciples. Then Luke 10:1 tells us, “After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.” We sometimes forget that part of his ministry. Jesus had the power of 72 disciples cooperating in spreading his word.
Cooperation is a virtue that benefits both the individual and the collective. It fosters unity, mutual understanding, and progress towards common goals. It’s a virtue that we can practice in our daily lives, in our families, our nation, and the world.
It is a virtue that can make our world a better place in many ways. Cooperation can lead to increased efficiency and productivity. When individuals work together, they can accomplish tasks faster and more effectively than if they were working alone. One study found that among employees who collaborate in the workplace, 73% do better work, and 60% are more innovative.
Truly, cooperation fosters a culture of innovation and creativity. When people with diverse skills and perspectives come together, they can generate new ideas and solutions that wouldn’t have been possible individually. That is the power behind ‘think tanks.’
Cooperation helps in establishing and maintaining relationships and friendships. It aids in avoiding social isolation and resolving conflicts. It is essential for building strong communities. The spirit of cooperation encourages individuals to contribute to their classrooms, workplaces, churches, and other organizations.
Cooperation plays a crucial role in conflict resolution. When we cooperate, we are more likely to resolve our differences peacefully and respectfully. It is also an important tool for leadership and change. Leaders can encourage people to work together towards difficult goals.
Jesus does this when he challenges us with tasks that stretch our faith, abilities, and stamina. Examples include commanding Peter to walk on water, and the calling to live by the impossible standards of the Sermon on the Mount.
We must choose to be a willing and loving cooperator with God and humankind. Everything we see about us came into being through cooperation. Our homes, our food, our clothing are the result of cooperation. The world of our dreams, the perfect world God means for us to live in, is evolving through the cooperation of people with other people, and people with God.
If we doubt for a moment the power of cooperation, we might ask an astronaut if he could have walked on the moon or if the seven current residents of the International Space Station would be there without the cooperation of many minds and hands, without the cooperation of the prayers of many hearts.
Let us be aware of how we can better cooperate with each other, with family members, with neighbors, with our community, with our world. Cooperation involves consideration, determination, positive action, and follows the dictate of 1 Thessalonians 5:15 - Always seek to do good to one another.
The gift of cooperation requires wisdom when it comes to all the world has to offer. We can choose to participate in everything the world throws at us or be quite particular. The ego will definitely urge for our cooperation in some behaviors and choices.
Similarly, we must be aware that Christ calls for our willing cooperation to achieve all that God wants from us while in our body. We choose to cooperate with God, because God’s will for us is good and only good. As we hold to this truth, we find ourselves in a wonderful partnership of creative, abundant life.
God's will for us is happiness. We are meant to love and be loved, to give and receive blessings. God's will for us includes everything that makes for a fulfilled, happy life. We cooperate with God to attract new good into our life and find new doors of good opening to us.
God's will for us is perfect life. We are created to express health and wholeness, for God's life is present in every cell of our body. We cooperate with God to maintain balance and well-being in every organ and function.
In Jeremiah 29:11, God shares this with us, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” God's will for us is abundance and prosperity, and has created an opulent universe, filled with divine ideas waiting to be acted upon. We cooperate with God by giving expression to the creative energy within us, and we draw all manner of prosperity into our life.
Cooperation involves working together harmoniously to achieve a common goal or accomplish tasks. It is not just about individual effort; it is the graceful dance of collective action. We always have the choice where we give our cooperation, and like other virtues, when used with love, it shields us from difficulty, trouble, and suffering. Cooperation is a special kind of “power” that enables us to experience well-being we wouldn’t access otherwise.
Cooperation isn’t just about external actions; it’s also an inner disposition and manifests in both mind and heart. Our cooperation calls upon our courage to step out and face challenges together. Harmonious cooperation requires a mind and heart of peace, diligence, focus, and humility. A cooperative heart is driven by joy, trust, detachment, and kindness. As 1 Corinthians 3:13-14 teaches: Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
It is my prayer that we follow the path of Christ, which is characterized by love, servanthood, collaboration, and a deep desire to build up others. As we seek to follow His example, let’s embrace cooperation in our relationships, communities, and endeavors. I pray that God will help us set aside our differences and come together as one body in Christ. We are told in Matthew 6:33 to seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and He will give us everything we need. May our lives reflect a harmonious symphony of hearts, all seeking God’s goodness and presence.
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