Harambee in Marriage

Teamwork

A sure formula for success in sports and in the workplace.  Teams that know how to collaborate and unite are most effective in reaching their objectives.

Teamwork is also an imperative for marriage.

Harambee

Years ago, my wife and I had the privilege of traveling to Nairobi, Kenya, to conduct a seminar for military married couples.  It was a wonderful time to interact with Kenyan military couples and learn about their culture.  Not long after, I learned about Kenya’s official motto:  Harambee (pronounced “hah-RAHM-beh”).  It literally means, “Let us all pull together.”

Following Kenya’s independence in 1963, Jomo Kenyatta, the first Prime Minister and later first President of Kenya, adopted “Harambee” as a concept of pulling the country together to build a new nation.  During my short visit to Kenya, I observed a number of communities up close, including those in slum areas. These communities, whether or not they were struggling to survive in impoverished conditions, appeared to be applying Harambee to their everyday lives:  showing commitment, intentionality, and cooperation in working together.

This team-building concept applies not only to the infrastructure of a nation, but is also foundational for a lasting marriage.

Think about this

Marriage is not an individual sport; it truly is a team sport.  We need to be intentional, focused, and committed in our relationship with each other and to the Lord.  And we should be pulling together, as a team, in one direction, with common spiritual purposes and goals.  When we are working together, we’re also encouraging one another.

Hebrews 3:13 suggests that our encouragement should be deliberate and consistent: “But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called ‘Today’, lest any of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”

Written by Cru Military staff member, Keith Morgan