When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone away from the well's mouth and water the sheep. Then they would return the stone to its place over the mouth of the well. – Genesis 29:3

Today's Scripture Reading (October 10, 2024): Genesis 29

It takes a village. The full proverb argues, "It takes a village to raise a child." The phrase is African in origin but might be better remembered as the title of a book by First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. In the book, Clinton unveils her vision for the children of the United States. She itemizes the forces outside of the family that positively and negatively impact a child's well-being. Clinton advocates for a society that would prioritize a child's needs.

A related phrase is "Teamwork makes the dream work." The origin of this phrase is unknown, but leadership author John Maxwell and former basketball all-star Michael Jordan have been suggested as possible initiators of the axiom. Both phrases argue that things are easier to do together and that we get better results if we are willing to accomplish our goals with each other.

Water would be necessary as the shepherds took their sheep out to pasture. And so, they would gather at a well that was covered with a large stone. The tradition was that the well would remain covered until all the shepherds had gathered with their flocks. Then, the stone would be removed, the sheep watered, and the well would be covered once again until the next day's gathering. The reality was that the task of handling the stone was more manageable with more hands set on the task. But the other reality was that some, specifically Rachel, likely couldn't uncover the well by themselves. And so, they did it together.

I live in a society that likes to think that we can do things without help from anyone. We love the idea that we are self-made and self-sufficient. But we are deceiving ourselves. Politically, we are still being told the lie. It has become a staple of our right-side politics. It doesn't matter whether you are British, American, Canadian, or "input your nationality here," someone has probably suggested recently that it is better for the nation to go it alone. The only exceptions might be Ukraine and the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip, places under such distress that they know they need all the help they can get, which tells us something else about ourselves. But if there is any hope for this world, it will be because we have realized that if we are going to move the stone from the top of the well, it is better if we do it together.

We all need each other, period. There are no exceptions where this is not true. Anyone who says differently and believes that the path to success is found in isolating ourselves from the rest of the world is either naïve or lying. It takes a village to make anything worthwhile work. Teamwork really does make the dream work, whether you are a shepherd four thousand years ago or a mechanic in our contemporary world.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 30