Recently, in an outbreak of ants in the city I live in, I was able to zero in on the lesson of synergism (the power of teamwork). The house I live in and the surrounding yard became infested with tiny black ants, and I had to engage in a do-it-yourself project to sort out the problem.

After much effort and time, just when I thought the problem was resolved, the ants moved to another level—off the ground and onto the walls. They were outwitting me and making it really difficult to get rid of them because they were moving in colonies. Such tiny creatures, but together they had much strength and perseverance.

A few months ago, our pastor was also subjected to an ant problem. His telephone line was down for days as an army of ants had invaded the main communication box. This problem had to be sorted out by telecommunications services.

In a sermon Richard Pinelli described this teamwork (synergy) as the power of multiplication. The efforts of one are limited. But when combined with another, instead of just adding, their efforts together can multiply.

In Revelation 3 the Philadelphia church is described as one with little strength, yet accomplishing much. This kind of teamwork begins with everyone being of the same mind, working toward a common goal and not underestimating the power of synergism. That is probably why there were 12 disciples instead of just one. That's also why our new president called a worldwide fast to focus our minds on being of the same mind and same spirit. Together we can go on to accomplish much!