What is Your Role?

Strength"Almighty Father, may our athletes and coaches be strong in You and in the strength of Your might..."
-- Ephesians 6:10

What's Your Role? Wednesday, September 26th, 2007 READY: "The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ." -1 Corinthians 12:12 SET: Why is it that we place so much emphasis on the role we have been given on a team. We wrap our identity--how we see ourselves--in the role we play. For example: A non-starter might think, "I'm not on the field. I have no role. I'm just a benchwarmer." They could think that by not starting they are "not good enough." And this attitude could easily carry over to other areas of their life. If you are a reserve, where are you mentally during a game? Are you ready to go in at anytime, and do you know what is going on? Or are you sulking around, irritated that you aren't getting playing time? On the other side, starters might carry an "I'm better than you" attitude. Let me tell you what. Pride stinks. The Bible warns not to think of yourself more highly than you ought "lest you fall." Is it all about you? Is your mindset that if you don't get it done, it won't happen? Evaluate yourself: What attitudes are you bringing to the team? The attitudes we carry in our hearts do come out in some way--either out of our mouths or through our actions towards others. How do you think your teammates would rate your attitude? Is your attitude benefiting the team as a whole? Does your attitude on and off the field bring a smile to God's face? (Yes, God smiles!) As the saying goes, "There is no 'I' in team." On a true team, each person uses his or her specific gifts and talents to add to the whole. Everyone has a part to play. Who by themselves could take on a whole team and win? First Corinthians 12:18-22 from the Message sums it up: "I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant, not less. A body isn't just a single part blown up into something huge. It's all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together. If Foot said, 'I'm not elegant like Hand, embellished with rings; I guess I don't belong to this body,' would that make it so? If Ear said, 'I'm not beautiful like Eye, limpid and expressive; I don't deserve a place on the head,' would you want to remove it from the body? If the body was all eye, how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell? As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it. Continued: "But I also want you to think about how this keeps your significance from getting blown up into self-importance. For no matter how significant you are, it is only because of what you are a part of. An enormous eye or a gigantic hand wouldn't be a body, but a monster. What we have is one body with many parts, each its proper size and in its proper place. No part is important on its own. Can you imagine Eye telling Hand, 'Get lost; I don't need you'? Or, Head telling Foot, 'You're fired; your job has been phased out'? As a matter of fact, in practice it works the other way--the 'lower' the part, the more basic, and therefore necessary. You can live without an eye, for instance, but not without a stomach." Whatever role you play on the team, set out to live out that role with all your heart, all your mind and all your strength--exemplify what it means to be the best at what you have been given to do. That will result in a personal VICTORY and will bring a smile to God's face! GO: 1. What attitudes are you bringing to your team?2. How do you think your teammates would rate your attitude?3. Is your attitude benefiting the team as a whole? WORKOUT: Proverbs 4:23Luke 6:451 Corinthians 12:12-27