The Power of Others

“One is too small a number
to achieve greatness.”
John Maxwell

Solomon, the most brilliant man of his time wrote,

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, 12 (NIV))----

Africans have a saying,

“if you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together.”

I was on a mission trip, drilling water wells in The Ivory Coast. One night our little mission team thought it was a good idea to to travel all night on a bus from Bondoukou, South to Abidjan, the capitol, to avoid the 105 degree daytime temperatures. At about 11:30 pm the bus stopped because there were “boulder bandits” ahead. These bandits rolled large boulders on the highway, hoping to stop a bus like ours and rob all the people. We were told that the African people, out of their own survival instincts, have learned to band together at times like this for safety. So we waited until there were a large number of cars so that we could caravan together down the highway in the middle of the night. Of course, we also were escorted by a jeep full of soldiers with machine guns.

There is safety in numbers! Especially when there is speculation that the “boulder bandits” were sanctioned by the police who hadn't been paid by the government in two years.

Africans have learned by necessity, that they need one another to survive in such a hostile environment! In America we look to our finances and our fences and our gated communities for security. In Africa security is often counted by the number of friends who will come to help in a time of crisis.

Why don't you take a moment and email someone who you know would come to assist you in a crisis and thank them for their friendship. You will most certainly make their day and you will demonstrate that you have learned something from the Africans. Have a great day! Stan