In all seasons of life God provides opportunities to walk in humility before Him. Today I saw a video of a young teen playing baseball who hits home runs with ease. That was always a dream of mine in Little League: to hit a home run over the fence. Though a proficient player and coming close several times, it was a goal I was never able to achieve. I bounced balls off the fence, but never hit one out.
A high degree of skill or below-average ability in sport both have ways of exposing pride and our need for repentance and humility. The trouble about being good at something is we begin to have high expectations of ourselves we never had when first starting out. As my bowling average rose with practice, so did my expectations of better scores. Games I would have been pleased with years before when I was just "having fun" became a source of frustration. But it wasn't 10-pin bowling, my team, my poor technique, or the score which was the problem: the issue was pride in my heart. Navigating failure in technique or execution of fundamentals is not nearly as challenging as addressing the pride prior success can bring.
In the heat of the moment it is easy to lose my composure, but the conviction of the Holy Spirit and even gentle rebuke by others has helped me regain proper perspective. I am glad to have the insights afforded by God's grace to King Nebuchadnezzar after his seven years of madness in Daniel 4:37: "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down." After proud Nebuchadnezzar was humbled, God restored him to rule once again as king. The greatest men ultimately will be humbled before our glorious God, but better to humble ourselves before Him voluntarily. God is able to humble kings, sportsmen, intellectuals, celebrities, and the average Joe without difficulty, and we are blessed to embrace it.
Failure to perform well at sport up to our expectations is a humbling experience, and whenever we are humbled it is good. The flesh resists and resents this treatment which can take far more than seven years, but it bears eternal fruit that is pleasing and acceptable to God. We would be pleased with a perfect game in bowling or by hitting a grand slam to win the baseball game, but God is pleased when we humble ourselves before Him win or lose, thankful and grateful for the chance to play a game, enjoy being part of a team, and doing our best.
A high degree of skill or below-average ability in sport both have ways of exposing pride and our need for repentance and humility. The trouble about being good at something is we begin to have high expectations of ourselves we never had when first starting out. As my bowling average rose with practice, so did my expectations of better scores. Games I would have been pleased with years before when I was just "having fun" became a source of frustration. But it wasn't 10-pin bowling, my team, my poor technique, or the score which was the problem: the issue was pride in my heart. Navigating failure in technique or execution of fundamentals is not nearly as challenging as addressing the pride prior success can bring.
In the heat of the moment it is easy to lose my composure, but the conviction of the Holy Spirit and even gentle rebuke by others has helped me regain proper perspective. I am glad to have the insights afforded by God's grace to King Nebuchadnezzar after his seven years of madness in Daniel 4:37: "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down." After proud Nebuchadnezzar was humbled, God restored him to rule once again as king. The greatest men ultimately will be humbled before our glorious God, but better to humble ourselves before Him voluntarily. God is able to humble kings, sportsmen, intellectuals, celebrities, and the average Joe without difficulty, and we are blessed to embrace it.
Failure to perform well at sport up to our expectations is a humbling experience, and whenever we are humbled it is good. The flesh resists and resents this treatment which can take far more than seven years, but it bears eternal fruit that is pleasing and acceptable to God. We would be pleased with a perfect game in bowling or by hitting a grand slam to win the baseball game, but God is pleased when we humble ourselves before Him win or lose, thankful and grateful for the chance to play a game, enjoy being part of a team, and doing our best.
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