Years ago, I used to meet a group of guys at six every Saturday morning to play golf. I didn’t have any children in those days. I can barely remember life before children…
Anyway, there was one guy that played in our group that was a far worse golfer than anyone else. Nobody cared, except him.
As we played, he would grow more and more frustrated, not so much by his lack of ability, but because he felt somehow like he was a hindrance to the rest of us.
Try as we might, we could not convince him that we didn’t care about his golf game. We repeatedly told him that we just wanted him to be out there with us because when he wasn’t fretting over the game, he was true joy to be around.
Eventually, he stopped playing and robbed us of what we wanted most: fellowship.
This isn’t a unique story. I’ve heard many variations of it over the years. Just replace golf with another activity of some kind and you have a very common story.
It’s just a variation of the sad story of pride. It’s the sinful attitude that creeps in and creates self-pity within a person’s heart and mind.
How can I identify and avoid this way of thinking? It’s easy to see if you know what to look for. Here’s the circumstances:
- An opportunity is presented
- You reject the opportunity
It’s easy enough to identify the circumstances, but most important is the WHY behind the rejection. Here is the heart of the matter. If you find yourself saying, I can’t do that because:
- I’m too old / I’m too young
- I’m not good at that / not experienced
- I don’t know enough
- I’d just be in the way
- Other people are better than me at that
- I might embarrass myself
At the core of these excuses lies the sin of pride. Someone might say, those could be legitimate excuses. I would argue, not for a follower of Jesus they’re not. Ephesians 2:10 states that we are,
…created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
The scripture leaves no room for excuse making on our part. And to the ones thinking they have nothing to offer, they forget the thing that I have found most people value above all else: fellowship.
What does it take to contribute fellowship? The only requirement is showing up! And this is also commanded. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says,
…encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.
You can’t encourage or build people up when you are not present.
It’s true, your days of doing the heavy lifting may be over, but after the heavy lifting days comes the even greater responsibility of creating disciples.
Be encouraged church and understand that we are better together! We have been created for community. We are the body of Christ.
Wes LeFlore (918) 607-8489 or huskerwes1@gmail.com
