Life & Living: It's Time to Point Your Finger
I enjoy watching some sports, although everything has its limits. There is one curious reaction I have seen among some players, however, when they make a particularly great catch or hit a homerun or tackle an opposing player: they lift their arm (usually right) and point their index finger skyward. Some even look up as they do it. Sometimes this action is accompanied by a strange full-body wiggle or duck walk. Yet I have never seen the same reactions when players make a questionable or bad play…or when they lose the game. Then it seems they like to slap their helmets or heads, look down, stare menacingly at their putter, or shake their heads in mock unbelief; some snarl. You certainly have seen this behavior; what do you make of it?
I'll tell you what I think. I think winners are silently saying, "I could not have done that without you, God!" Losers are saying nothing, or if they do it may not be printable. They seem to be saying, "Why did You do that, God!" If we mess up or the opposition is stronger than we are, it must be God's fault.
We like to bring God into our good times and leave Him out of our bad ones. "How could God allow that?" "If God is good, why did this happen?" "God does not exist, or if He does He does not care." We love God when we are winners and detest Him when we are losers. I think this is because Americans love winning and hate losing. We are happy with God when our side takes the trophy home but snarl at Him when we get the jeers of the crowd instead of its applause. We like to pass the buck, and we think with God: the buck stops there! I also think that in this way modern Christianity is often like a sporting event. Praise God when we are doing well and feeling good, hiss and boo Him when we are not.
There is a sense that during worship Christians are like athletes with a good attitude. They smile a lot and point their fingers in the air; they may even look up. Christians have a good time praising the Lord because for them life is good ... and their future prospects are even better. In fact, Christians are always winning, making the good play, pleasing the coach. They also know that when the game is reviewed their mistakes will be forgiven and they will hear: "Well, done!" This is not because Christians always do the right thing or say the right thing. It is because the One who judges is merciful and He knows we love Him and want to serve Him. We want to do good even if we occasionally do not do good. The one thing we do not do is cut and run when the going is tough. (By the way, this is no political statement!)
Many people, and where they get this I do not know, expect life to be easy and obviously rewarding. I even hear preachers telling gullible congregations that God "owes" them a fat wallet and a good car. But like the first century church, we are called to do what is apparently humanly impossible, lift the arm and wave the index finger with a smile on our face when things are bad! We do this because we know God is behind what is happening and will make everything come out right, whether we see it now or not. Bad things do happen but we do not need to be afraid. So cheer a little; do a duck walk!
Jerry Mercer
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