Before a freshman football game, one of the coaches shouted at a player and abruptly dismissed him from the field.
Another coach on the sidelines looked squarely through the bars of the boy’s helmet, spoke sternly to him, and sent him to the locker room. What could have ever evoked such a strong response from the coaches?
After the game one of the parents asked their son who played in the game and observed the incident what happened. He answered simply: “He shoved his teammate.”
What a profound principle: If you are in it to win, you work together to defeat the opponent. Shoving your own threatens the effort.
For a long time I have felt that we Christians and Americans have afforded ourselves a debilitating luxury, that of brother/sister bashings. In particular, we tend to shove our leaders.
Most pastors, teachers, legislators and national spokespersons understand that unwarranted criticism, innuendo, misunderstanding, and maligning of motives go with the territory of leadership. But that doesn’t make it right.
The rest of us must recognize our responsibility to hold up such leaders and make sure we don’t waste time shoving one another while the adversary wins the day.
Thanks to Joseph M. Stowell
During the past two years of the COVID-19 epidemic, what public health officials have YOU unduly criticized who were trying to save lives and put an end to the pandemic?
GOD IS GOOD, EVEN WHEN PEOPLE ARE NOT!
