Put in our place – Devotion for
Last night as I was coaching my sons soccer team at practice, I overheard one particular little boy saying that he was the third best player on the team. I personally despise hearing that kind of talk, because as I have learned so many times that kind of talk takes the emphasis off of the team as a whole and puts the focus on individuals. I told the little group of boys that I didn’t want to hear that kind of talk, but sure enough boys being boys, I heard the one boy continuing on that he was the third best on the team (hey – at least he has something to strive for, I guess). We were doing a particular drill that was a one-on-one drill, and I could see that each time he was up he was aligning himself against another player who wasn’t quite as strong of a player as he was. So his next time up, I called forward one of the better girls on the team and had her go against him. Just like I had wanted, she went out there and just smoked him in the drill. As he came back to the group, I called him to the side and told him that I didn’t want to hear any more talk about who was better because there was always someone better. I almost felt bad about doing it, but I didn’t say it so that others could here, and I knew it was important for him to understand it is not about one person, but the whole group. And, I needed to put him in his place. Well, I guess I didn’t actually put him in his place – the little girl that smoked him did.
Sometimes we all need to be put in our place. It’s called being held accountable. We’ve got to recognize that there are consequences for our actions or inactions, and if there is no one around to put us in our place, then there is no accountability. In 2 Chronicles 7:12-22, God is speaking to Solomon, and He tells Solomon that there is a level of accountability that he and his people will be held to: “humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14) However, if they do not do these things, He is going to put them in their place: “Then I will uproot you from My land which I have given you, and this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.” (2 Chronicles 7:20) As Christians, sometimes we tend to begin to think a little too highly of ourselves. We can attempt to be smug about how holy and pious we are, but the fact is we still sin and we still fall short of what we are called to be. Let us not forget that even though we are saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, God still has expectations of us. As God told Solomon, let us too keep ourselves humble, pray and seek the face of God, and turn from our wicked ways.
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