Hard Life Lessons for our children and us, as parents, BUT there is HOPE!!

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After spending the weekend at my son’s soccer tournament, so much is on my mind. When we don’t know the answer to questions, honestly, all we have to do is open our Bible and they are all right in front of us. God’s word is TRUTH. As I sat at the tournament this weekend, you see many injustices going on. You hear people talking and see things that are just NOT right (not just on your own team, but all around on all the fields), BUT we live in a fallen world. A world that is not PERFECT. It is what we learn or teach our kids from those experiences that matter. I watched several games  and saw many things from many different teams. You see favoritism on teams from the coaches, which are supposed to be unbiased, you see players that you can tell think they are the “team” and are out there for themselves, you see kids not playing and sitting on the bench, and you hear parents talking about the injustices of it all. It is all a learning process. When you see this what do you do? Well, we should be taking it to the Lord in prayer. We cannot change what is happening, BUT God can. He sees the injustices. He sees it all.

The Bible speaks very clearly on what I call “teamwork” in 1 Corinthians

One Body, Many Parts.*
12 As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit. 14 Now the body is not a single part, but many.15 If a foot should say, “Because I am not a hand I do not belong to the body,” it does not for this reason belong any less to the body. 16 if an ear should say, “Because I am not an eye I do not belong to the body,” it does not for this reason belong any less to the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But as it is, God placed the parts, each one of them, in the body as he intended. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 But as it is, there are many parts, yet one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I do not need you.”22 Indeed, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are all the more necessary,23 and those parts of the body that we consider less honorable we surround with greater honor, and our less presentable parts are treated with greater propriety,24 whereas our more presentable parts do not need this. But God has so constructed the body as to give greater honor to a part that is without it, 25 so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same concern for one another. 26 If [one] part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy.

The Body is a lot like a “TEAM”. There are only a few sports that have a “One man show”, i.e. track (individual races), discus, individual swimming, etc, but the majority of sports encompass multiple players and each player matters as much as the others. I find it discouraging when you see coaches that discourage the players rather than encouraging them. I find it discouraging when you see unethical and unprofessional things happening on teams. I find it discouraging when you see injustices, BUT I see a God that makes all things right in his timing. What can we teach our kids when we see these things happening? What example can we be for our kids? We can encourage them. . We can teach them that life is not fair, but God is fair and just. We can teach them that EVERY SINGLE player on the team matters. Sure at the end of a game whomever has the most points wins, but it took the defenders to stop the ball from going in the goal. It took the goalie to do his job and keep the ball out of the goal, it took players passing the ball to get the player to score. . . IT ALL MATTERS!! EVERYONE is just as important as the other. How many of you have been overlooked for a job promotion due to favoritism or injustices? Many of us have, BUT I do believe God is waiting to see how we will react to that injustice. HE SEES IT, HE KNOWS ABOUT IT. ONLY HE CAN CHANGE IT. You CANNOT Change it. You can pray about it and continue to work like you are working for God, because ALL the glory goes to God and God alone. We are not accountable for anyone else and/or what they do, BUT we are definitely accountable for our own actions and will stand before God and have to answer why we did X, Y, Or Z. . We will face injustices and unfairness in life, BUT how will we respond to it? First, pray about it and seek God’s wisdom and BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD. Don’t react, because once you do, you cannot take that back. It is better to talk to God and let him “fight” your battles. Raise your kids to know what is right and expected from God. If you are not sure, open your Bible and all the answers are right there. Teach them that all they can do is control their actions and to ALWAYS work like they are working for the Lord, because God sees it and that is all that matters at the end of life. We all have a part in this “BODY” some may be in the spotlight more than others, but ultimately it takes all the “parts” to make the “body” work and every part is just as important, God made it that way. Like scripture says “If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy.” That is TRUTH, that is God’s word. . Stand on it and teach your kids it. They matter even when they are not being treated that way. Their importance to God is much more important than what any coach, parent, or peer thinks of them. . . we are the example for our kids, we need to let them know JUST HOW IMPORTANT THEY ARE!! Thanks for letting me share and may you all feel encouraged if you are facing injustices in this world.

GOD IS GOOD. . . ALL THE TIME!!

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