Strength in Numbers

“Two people are always better off than one because they can work together and enjoy each other’s company. If one of them falls, the other can help him up. But I pity the man who walks alone, because when he falls, he has no one to help him. Two can resist an attack better than one trying to do it alone. A rope made from three strands is much stronger than a rope made from one.” – Ecclesiastes 4:9, 10, 12

            Summers are a great opportunity to work, keep busy, and best of all...accumulate a bit of pocket money. One summer while working at my dad’s business, he gave me the simple job of shredding papers. Boxes and boxes of files, receipts, notes, and miscellaneous documents were placed before me and as I began my job...hours passed by.

            With time alone, I began to think about what the Lord had done in my life, and the amazing friends He had brought to support and encourage me in the difficult times. Suddenly, my shredding became a mission; as I was grabbing and placing the stacks of paper through the inevitable tearing they had awaiting, quite often I would seize a pile the shredder could not handle and it would jam, shutter, and stop. It reminded me of a book I had read not long ago, Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris. They wrote about a study that had been revealed to them; a single horse can pull an average load of 2,500 pounds. The test was then repeated with a second horse added. You’d expect the weight towed would double, making it a total of about 5,000 pounds; Not so. The two steeds working together could manage a load of 12,500 pounds! That’s five times the load a single horse could pull alone! There’s something in living beings that rises to accomplish exponentially greater things when part of a team.

            Keeping this in mind, I began my experiment with the shredder. I began with one sheet, than added a piece in numerical order until I reached the max the shredder could take in. The total was fourteen, but that’s beside the point; persisting with the test, it showed that each paper added to the bundle made it harder and harder for the machine to destroy those documents.

            The same applies in our own lives. Satan is the machine destroyer...as soon as he has a foot-hold of you it’s practically impossible to get out unscathed. When we have our spiritual friends and family to back us up and help us work through problems and hardships, it’s harder and harder for the devil to gain control. Jesus is there as our Rock. Mentally and physically he can jam that shredder and save us all from losing our faith. With mounds of papers and our Rock, that shredder has no chance. Keep your friends and family close and continue building healthy relationships with them and God, because there is vast strength in numbers.