LeBron, The Lone Ranger, & You: Why Biblical Community Is Important

The NBA season will soon tipoff and with it the much anticipated hype of the new Miami Heat trio of LeBron James, Dewayne Wade, & Chris Bosh.  If you don’t follow pro sports, James & Bosh are two of the NBA’s elite players who left their former teams this past offseason to join  the Heat, where Wade had already established himself as a star player.  The news made big headlines this offseason, and many experts now favor the Heat to win the championship.

LeBron particularly took a lot of criticism when he left his former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, to sign with Miami a couple of months ago.  Some of the criticism was directed at how he announced his decision (on national TV in a rather tacky fashion).  Many critical comments were made, however, that the move was a sign of weakness on LeBron’s part.  He’s probably one of the most talented players in NBA history, but he’s never won a championship, largely because he’s never had a talented group of teammates to support his play.  By signing with Miami, LeBron basically admitted he couldn’t do it alone, something many former players & current media members contended made him a weak competitor.  A great player, they reasoned, is willing to tackle the challenge of winning a championship by himself.

I didn’t like the way LeBron announced his decision, but his decision to join together with stronger teammates reflects an important principle for the Christian life:  We weren’t meant to tackle life alone.

It’s a theme that’s woven throughout Scripture.  In Genesis, God said that it was not good for man to be alone, so He created for Adam a mate: his wife, Eve.  Jesus recruited 12 disciples with whom to share His earthly life.  When it came time to send them out for ministry, He sent them out in pairs.  The New Testament gives continual commands that require human interaction: “love one another”, “encourage one another”, “serve one another”, “be of one mind”, etc.  In addition, books like 1 Timothy & Titus devote significant discussion to how Christians are to care for and minister to one another. Other New Testament references demonstrate that churches are to help other churches, too.

The book of Hebrews is especially poignant.  In Hebrews 3:12-13, the writer tells the believers to take care that they don’t fall away from God, and to “encourage one another day after day, as long as it is stilled called today, so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”  In 10:24-25, he tells them to “consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another…”

The Scripture repeatedly affirms that there are no “Lone Ranger” Christians. As believers, you & I need each other to withstand the devil’s schemes and to accomplish God’s kingdom work.  That’s one reason why regular church attendance and involvement in a small group or Bible study is so important.  We need the encouragement, interaction, accountability, and care that involvement with a community of believers provides to succeed for God’s kingdom.  It took LeBron James seven seasons to figure out he needed the help of strong teammates.  What about you?