In this audio, Dan Brown speaks of the importance of the division of labor. He says that when men collaborate and work together, each one doing his own task, great things can be accomplished. He speaks of how division of labor resonates throughout all of life. Different people have different tasks in life none of them less significant then another but all very important for the proper functioning of society. In the family, division of labor is necessary, the husband, wife, and children have different responsibility, all of which help the family function properly. 

Every son needs to hear his father say son pull your weight. 1 Corinthians 12 17 and 18 if the whole body were an eye where would be the hearing if the whole were hearing where would be the smelling But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as he pleased. 1 Corinthians 12. Chapter 4, Division of Labor. In order to have a productive work life, the boy must understand the doctrine of Division of Labor, for he must learn to play his God-ordained part.

Iwo Jima was a grand theater where Division of Labor was put on display. For example, I was shocked when my father told me that he never fired a shot on the island of Iwo Jima. He said it was not his job, for he was on a completely different mission than the United States Marine Corps or the Navy or the Seabees. He was not supposed to kill Japanese defenders on Iwo Jima and was actually ordered to stay out of the way. He was ordered to fly airplanes with the goal to bring Japan to its knees through an air war.

He had his focus while other men had theirs. However, they were not disconnected from one another. Their unique perspectives, their professional specialties for their collaborative council were operating in a unified effort. Every man had a job on Iwo Jima. The Navy brought the men and supplies to the beach and shuttled the wounded.

The Marine Corps secured the island through hand-to-hand combat. The Seabees built the airfields, roads, and command posts. The Army Air Corps protected the island from aerial attack and launched fighter strikes to protect B-29s on their bombing raids to mainland Japan. It was an epic team effort. All were needed.

If one of the teams had been pulled out of the conflict, the whole operation would have fallen apart. Strength was distributed throughout the various roles and responsibilities. Each man performed his unique function. Mutual support created a greater unified strength. This division of labor produced a devastating defeat of Japan.

The invasion and control of Iwo Jima made it possible for the United States Army Air Force to destroy 65 major Japanese cities before dropping the atomic bombs, which finally ended the war. By the time we dropped the atomic bombs, the strength of the Japanese empire was deflated and the rising sun was setting fast. Our bombing raids had plunged Japan hopelessly into the most extreme conditions imaginable. We leveled her cities, ruined her factories, destroyed her transportation systems and eliminated her Air Force and Navy. By the summer of 1945, there was no competition in the air or on the sea from Japanese forces, while the grim reapers of hunger and privation dogged every Japanese citizen.

It takes coordination to do great things. The powerful results of this division of labor exemplified the power of men working together. It takes men in coordination to accomplish great things. There must be authority and submission as well as division of labor and flexibility. This principle is true for the most important areas of life, church, home, and government.

In the church there are different gifts among the members, hands and feet, and different offices like elders and deacons, each with its own responsibilities and duties. Scripture requires that men and women fill different roles in the church. 1 Corinthians 12, 4, and 11, Titus 1 and 2. In home, a godly division of labor is necessary for the building of a home life that is pleasing to God and a blessing to the community. There are different roles and responsibilities given to husband and wife that, when they are working together in concert, produce a beautiful home life, Ephesians 5 22-33.

Civil government also plays its unique role in punishing evil-doers, Romans 13-4. All of these arenas require a division of labor that fits in the framework of the wisdom of God and they're all defined and regulated in Scripture so that we don't have to make up life as we go. There is a divine pattern. Wise men understand. They cannot do it all.

They need other men. The most effective men are not wise in their own eyes, so they seek the counsel of the wisest. In addition, no man has all the skills necessary to make his way through life, so it is important that he be humble enough to be able to identify superior skill in the lives of other men and work with them in unity, each one serving the others for the glory of God. A wise, coordinated division of labor is unstoppable and our labors are more effective when we work together. Solomon put it this way in Proverbs 24 6, for By wise counsel you will wage your own war and in a multitude of counselors there is safety.

The apostle Paul communicated this anti-individualistic idea to the members of the church in Corinth. He wanted them to understand that church is like a body with many members, each performing different and important functions. 1 Corinthians 12-14, for in fact the body is not one member but many. If the foot should say, because I am not a hand, I am not of the body, Is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, because I am not an eye, I am not of the body.

Is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body, just as he pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be?

But now, indeed, there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you, nor again the head to the feet. I have no need of you. No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable on these we bestow greater honor and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty but our presentable parts have no need.

But God composed the body having given greater honor to that part which lacks it that there should be no schism in the body but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. Or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it." 1 Corinthians 12. Moses learned this lesson battling against the Amalekites. Aaron and Hur came to his aid and their assistance caused the Israelites to be victorious in battle.

If Moses' arms were not held up by his brothers, it would have meant disaster. I'm sure his understanding of his dependence on his brothers was increased that day, Exodus 17. But Moses' hands became heavy, so they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. And Aaron and her supported his hands, one on one side and the other on the other side. And his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

In this scene we notice the appreciation that Moses, Aaron and her had for one another as they helped each other accomplish the work of God. This clear picture stands in contrast to envy and grasping and dissatisfaction. A father must do these things. Number one, beware of envy. It is easy to diminish your contribution in your own mind because of envy or dissatisfaction or fear that the other guy will get the glory.

There are some dramatic examples in Scripture of people who despised the role of others and suffered greatly for it. Miriam refused to accept the division of labor that God established for the wilderness wanderings and God punished her with leprosy. Korah also rejected God's division of labor and it caused him and many others to be swallowed up in the earth under the wrath of God. Number 1630 tells us the root cause of Korah's rebellion. But if the Lord creates a new thing and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them and they go down alive into the pit, then you will understand that these men have rejected the Lord.

It was not Moses he was rejecting, it was the Lord and the division of labor. He established Miriam and Korah desired something different from what the Lord provided, and it caused them to rise up against Moses, the one whom God had chosen. Number two, train a happy and harmonious worker. Unhappiness with our station often makes us unable to work in harmony with the others with whom God has put us. The Apostle Paul himself learned in whatever state I am to be content, Philippians 4-11.

Contentment with what God has provided helps harmony flourish. It is good medicine and it makes work seem easier and go more quickly. Number three, help his son rejoice in differences. God has ordained that we are not all the same, nor do we play identical roles in life. The multiplicity of giftedness that God spreads out is wondrous and the best thing to do is to simply marvel and rejoice and refrain from getting bitter.

Many workers spend valuable years pining away because God has not given them certain gifts. But God is sovereign in the particular gifts he gave us. Wise men rejoice in the differences and will not envy men who are equipped to do a different job. Number four, explain that personal obedience is often required for the good accomplishment of the whole. As previously discussed, the transformation of Mount Suribachi was not only a direct result of courageous visionary leadership, it was also the result of a personal obedience of soldiers faithfully carrying out their orders, often against their personal inclinations.

Number five, demonstrate the importance of gathering a wide base of counsel. Solomon communicated the importance of this in this way, Proverbs 20 18, quote, plans are established by counsel, by wise counsel wage war, unquote. Godly counsel is the key, quote, My people ask counsel from their wooden idols, and their staff informs them, for the spirit of harlotry has caused them to stray, and they have played the harlot against their God." Hosea 4 Number 6. Coach his son to play his part with all his might and trust God with the results. In God's economy, each one has a particular function to perform.

But if anyone in the chain is weak or irresponsible, the whole will be affected. This is why boys need to learn to exert themselves with all their hearts, Carry your weight with joy in your heart. Work in harmony. Do not despise the labors of others and know that God will see to it that you do not live in vain. Helping a boy to pull his own weight happens when we help him to understand the principles of how to work with other people, the importance of acknowledging and appreciating the contributions of others, how to play his part, and that his labors can be multiplied if he is able to work harmoniously with others son pull your weight