Before the industrial revolution, individual craftsmen, farmers, or ranchers did most of the work. In most cases, they worked alone. That is not the case in today’s workplaces. Most of our work involves being part of a group or team. Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes 4:12, a cord of three is not easily broken. Not only does a group give us strength, it also gives us a diversity of gifts.
Music gives us a great example of what can be accomplished by a group. An orchestra is made up of many different instruments. Each of those instruments can be played alone and each of them would make a lovely sound. For example, a violin can play a beautiful melody, but it can only play one or two notes at a time. It also has a limited range of notes and dynamics it can play. If you put that violin in a string quartet, the range of music that can be played is expanded significantly. The quartet can play much more complex harmony and dynamics than a single violin. When that string quartet becomes part of an orchestra, the complexity expands exponentially.
There is certainly nothing wrong with working alone; however, when we have opportunity to join our gifts and talents with others, the opportunity for great things to happen is enormous.
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