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We Need Each Other
by Norman and Ann Bales
All About Families


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A long time ago, a classroom teacher assigned her class the task of memorizing William Ernest Henley's famous poem "Invictcus." At the time, the closing lines sounded noble and challenging - "I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul." You can look at it as a challenge to take responsibility for your own actions and that's a good thing, but when you look carefully at Henley's philosophy, he doesn't leave any room for God. Besides that, he ignores the importance of cooperation, working together, joining hands, and facing a common foe together.

Solomon spoke obvious truth when he said,

Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work;
If one falls down the friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls,
And has no one to help him up!
Also, if two fall down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
- Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

There's an old story from the early twentieth century that illustrates Solomon's observation. The story is about a coal miner, whom we will call Chester. Chester grew tired of coal mining. He never saw the light of day. He wanted a better life for himself and his family. He heard that the government was offering homestead tracts in Wisconsin. If you moved there, built a house and improved the property, it was yours. Chester scraped and saved until he got enough money for a train trip to Wisconsin. He would send for his family when he completed a log cabin. Building materials were readily available. The property was covered with virgin timber. Chester reached his destination and walked to the property. He bought a new double bit ax, but decided gloves would be an extravagance. After all he had been using a shovel in the coal mines. His hands were callused and he was used to hard work. He started his work with great enthusiasm, but he soon encountered more than a few problems. The feel of the ax and the feel of the shovel weren't the same. Blisters formed on his hands. Soon the blisters burst and his hands were bloody. He was in constant pain. Mosquitoes were unbearable. The humidity and the heat sapped his energy. He missed his family. He began to have second thoughts. Maybe the coal mining life wasn't all that bad. Had he been foolish to pursue this dream. He thought of quitting. He dropped his ax, sat down on a log and wept. As he was sitting on the long, he heard the unmistakable ring of another ax felling trees. He had a neighbor. Somebody else was pursuing a dream; somebody was felling trees to build a home. He forgot about quitting. He no longer looked foolish. He picked up his ax and went back to work. He eventually completed the log house, moved his family to Wisconsin and lived out his days there. What a difference it makes when we know that someone else shares our pain, our tasks and our dreams.

We need each other. That's why family is so important. God, in his great wisdom, recognized the discouragement of loneliness. He said, "It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him" (Genesis 3:18).

We live in a time when we face enormous threats to our future well being. Those who approach these times in isolation from others are more vulnerable to discouragement and defeat than anyone else. "I am the Master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul" will not serve us well during these days. A more viable challenge can be found in the lyrics of a song composed by Rudolph Friml for the 1925 light opera, The Vagabond King.

Give me ten men,
Who are stout hearted men,
Who will fight for the right they adore.
If you'll give me ten
Who are stout hearted men,
Then I'll soon give you ten thousand more.


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