"One Is The Loneliest Number"

The following letter is addressed to an insurance company regarding an accident investigation. The author is unknown, but maybe you can relate to what happens when we try to do things on our own. 

I am writing in response to your request for additional information regarding my recent accident. In block number 3 of the accident report form, I listed ‘trying to do the job alone’ as the cause of my accident. In your letter, you asked that I provide more detailed information. So, here it is.

On the date of the accident, I was working alone on the roof of a 6-story building. After completing my roofing work, I discovered I had about ten bundles of shingles left over. Rather than carry them down by hand, I decided to lower them on a pallet by using a pulley attached to the side of the building on the 6th floor. 

Securing the rope to my truck bumper, I went up to the roof, swung the pallet out, and loaded the shingles onto it. Then I returned to the ground and untied the rope, holding it tightly to ensure a slow descent of the 720-pound load of shingles. You will note in block number 11 of the accident report form that my weight is 135 pounds. Due to my surprise at being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and forgot to let go of the rope. I proceeded up the side of the building at a rapid rate! Near the 3rd floor, I met the pallet coming down. This explains my fractured skull and broken collarbone. 

At approximately the same time, however, the pallet of shingles struck the ground, spilling over. Without the weight of the shingles, the pallet weighed about 75 pounds. I again refer to my weight in block number 11. As you might imagine, I began a rapid descent down the side of the building. Near the 3rd floor, I again met the pallet, only this time coming up, which explains my fractured ankle and lacerations of my leg and lower body. On the bright side, striking the pallet that was coming up as I was coming down, it slowed my descent enough to lessen my injuries when I landed on the pile of shingles. So, fortunately, I only cracked three vertebrae and bruised my buttocks. 

As I lay there on top of the shingles in intense pain and unable to stand, I let go of the rope and screamed as I watched the pallet descend on the side of the building and land on me. This explains my strained vocal cords and broken legs. I hope this provides the necessary information regarding the accident. I was trying to do the job alone!

At times, we all resemble this story. We’re some Lone Ranger out in the wilderness trying to do the job alone, living in quiet desperation, carrying that weight a long time, and getting caught in the storms that life brings us, feeling abandoned and unworthy. Sooner or later, a person without significant relationships in their life will have an experience like our friend in the opening story. He discovered, as songwriter Nilsson wrote, “One is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do.”

There’s a better way to live your life. In fact, the first thing God shows us in the Scriptures is that we need others. We need significant, meaningful relationships that empower us. It's not good for humankind to be alone. The universe will, to your destruction, become your ‘You-niverse’, putting you on a ‘re-verse’ course in your life. 

God created the entire universe, including planets, living things, light, and everything necessary for you and others to live. God said that creation was very good. Then God breathed into a man the breath of life. But something was incomplete, not quite right, to God and man. God said, “This is not good.” Then, God took a rib out of Adam and created Eve, and man has been taking ribbing ever since (just kidding). With Adam and Eve, you could have a relationship: equal status, different roles.

Here's the principle: In the beginning, relationship. It takes two or three to agree. That's an agreement. Then, the two individuals become one. That’s unity. Then the one becomes many. That's multiplication or filling the earth. Then they fulfill the task of civilizing and making the earth a better place to live. The two become one, the one becomes many, and the many do work – agreement, unity, abundance. Relationship first, task second. Start at the finish to get a good finish; it takes a team.

Do you have a job to be done, a business or church to grow, a marriage to improve, or whatever? Here’s how you do it. The best example in the Bible is in Acts 16:10-15, after he (Apostle Paul) saw God's vision to go to Macedonia. What's the next thing he needs? 

Let me quote Acts 16:10. “And when he saw the vision, immediately we concluded that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.” Note the pronouns: it shifted from ‘he to we to us to them.’ Paul needed a team. Why? Teamwork makes the dream work. After Paul saw the vision, the team took ownership of the vision (us), and funds to fulfill the mission were provided by a God-fearing Roman business owner in a Roman city marketplace. Acts 16:14-15. Agreement – Unity – Abundance. 

Notice the progression: first the dream, then the team, and finally the funding to complete the mission. Think of the disaster if Paul had tried to fulfill that mission by himself, as many leaders, thinkers, and independent superstars do. 

What's the lesson here? Right relationships lead to real ministry and productivity. None of us is as great as all of us. Relationship first, then task, because one is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do. Trying to do the job alone: Dare I say it? Stupid games have stupid rewards. Notice I didn't say you are stupid; I said, "That's stupid.”