I woke up in the middle of the night with the thought, "Just Be Yourself" and I guess the midnight munchies were involved because my thoughts involved candy bars. There are lot's of good candy bars. My faves would include Snickers, Milky Way, Almond Joy...Come to think of it ALL candy bars are good. They're all a little different but they're all good. They each carry the same delicious message to your mouth, "YUM!". They each do it in their own special way. Some with chocolate, some with nougat (What exactly is nougat?), some with nuts, some with caramel, but the end result is always "YUM!". They're ALL good, but there is only one GREAT candy bar...The Reese's Peanut Butter Cup!
So here's what I was thinking last night... half asleep, craving some Reese's goodness... a few thoughts running through my mind. Leadership lessons from my candy bar cravings.
- Be Yourself ~ I hate it when a classic candy bar tries to be something other than itself. Reese's should stick to cups, we don't need sticks, bars, pieces, and stuff from Reece's. They are just fine the way they are. And we don't need to be anything other than what God created us to be. Be yourself. Can you imagine how boring a candy aisle would be if there was only one kind of candy bar? Can you imagine how boring life would be if we were all exactly alike?
- Work Together ~ The absolute best candy bar of all time is the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. It's simple, elegant, and delicious. And in reality, it is the result of two great treats working together. Remember the old commercials? Hey, you got chocolate in my peanut butter! No, you got peanut butter on my chocolate! Two great tastes! (Now my mouth is watering) Seriously! Chocolate and Peanut Butter working together for candy bar greatness, and the end result? The whole world says "YUM!". The best candies are those that "work together". I'm pretty sure the world would be a better place if we would learn to work together in the church.
- Avoid Isolation ~ Great candy bars work in pairs. Peanut Butter Cups, along with Almond Joys, Mounds, Baby Ruths, and a few others come packaged in two's. Who wouldn't want two rather than one? Jesus sent his disciples out in two's for a reason. Why do we try to be Lone Rangers? The work is better when we work in two's. "Two are better than one"...Didn't a wise man say that somewhere?
- Teamwork ~ A bag of Reese's miniatures means more people get to walk away saying, "YUM!" (Or, one person gets to walk away with a tummy-ache). M&M's come in teams, they even have different colors to distinguish the players. Skittles, Lifesavers, and others have come to the realization that more people can share the joy when they work together in multi-member teams. Perhaps that's why Reese's came out with Pieces? I don't know. But I do believe we can accomplish so much more with a team than we can by ourselves.
I know! Goofy! But Hey! You didn't have to read the whole thing. Are you hungry yet? Have a candy bar and think about it for a while...
