Walk Out or Walk Up: Does It Have To Be A Choice?

Some people thought I was trying to subvert the voices of those who “walked out” yesterday due to a picture I posted on Facebook.  Just to be clear that was not my agenda. I agree, given the picture I posted I should have provided more of an explanation. I personally have no problem with those who walked out yesterday. My motive was to share a more complete answer to the issues that students and faculty face everyday. I was a youth pastor for over 20 years and I have experienced what happens when students reach out to the marginalized and love those the world throws away. I understood why those who walked out did so. I applaud them in standing up for what they believe in. However, if that is the extent of their action, not much will change. I remember when people were putting a red “X” in magic marker on their hand to bring awareness to human trafficking. Again, this is a great way to bring an often forbidden and controversial topic to the surface. However, most people’s action died when they washed away their Red “X” that night. Protest? Sure. Bring awareness? Absolutely! Even writing congress and trying to pass laws that may aid in helping with a problem is great!  But there is much more we can do in our communities, workplaces, and schools.

My oldest son is an introvert. We moved from Greer SC to Lexington, SC in 2016 due to God taking me to another place to serve as pastor. It was hardest on him because we moved in his 11^th grade year. Reflecting on the walk out yesterday he said he saw all these people walking out and none of them have ever reached out to him. My son bears some of the responsibility as well. He has not made himself available, he has not gotten involved in his new school, and he keeps to himself.  He shared the reason he did not make much of an effort is that he would be going to college in a few years and he would have to say goodbye again. It hurt too much the first time and he didn’t want to go through that again. This is not the route I would have chosen, but I am an extrovert and I think differently than him. Nevertheless, no one has really approached him to hang out. Even in what River Bluff High School calls “Crew” which is supposed to lend itself to making connections with fellow students.

My point in this post is to couple REAL action with your protest. Start in your community, workplace, and school. Reach out to those who are alone. Love everyone, even and especially those who may be hard to love.  Paul puts it best when he says, “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality” Romans 12:9-13.

The College Football Playoff and the Competitive Spirit

 

I was born and bred a Gamecock fan. My dad grew up in Olympia and we could see Williams Brice Stadium from my grandma’s front porch. Being a Gamecock has been a humbling experience most of my life. As a matter of fact I tease my Clemson Tiger pastor friends that Gamecocks make better pastors, because we understand what humility and long-suffering are all about.

Not only am I a Gamecock fan, but I also very competitive.  Competition is not bad if it helps motivate you to do your best in achieving a goal. But a competitive spirit really does nothing in terms of being a fan. My competitive spirit is not going to help the Gamecocks win more games. As a matter of fact, applying a competitive spirit to things you can’t control, like college athletics, is not only fruitless it can bring major frustration that bleeds in to other areas of your life.

Another fact to consider is that college athletics are never going to fully satisfy. When the Gamecocks win, it feels good…for a little bit. And when the Gamecocks lose it feels bad… again just for a little bit. The feelings associated with a win or the loss never has any longevity. So why should I invest so much emotional energy in something that does not ultimately satisfy? I am not saying don’t be a fan and enjoy college athletics. Just don’t let being a fan have a position of influence that compromises your relationship with Jesus.

Matt Chandler in his book “Creature of the Word” explains how nothing in this temporal world is going to ultimately satisfy the deepest yearnings of the soul. Chandler says, "We sit here in our modern-day world demanding that the activities of the moment satisfy us and give us meaning. We order them to meet the yearning lack of significance and purpose that aches in our hearts..."

Nothing in this temporal world can satisfy our heart that longs for the eternal.  Solomon even goes as far as to say, “Everything is meaningless” in Ecclesiastes 1:2.  Solomon, the wisest man ever, besides Jesus, goes on to expound in the next two chapters how wisdom, folly, pleasure, and work in and of itself does not satisfy our soul that craves the eternal.

Jesus, on the other hand says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” John 10:10. The thief tempts us with the temporal. However, investing in the temporal steals joy, kills relationships and can destroy real meaning in life. Jesus comes that we may have full life in Him. Only Jesus can make your life make sense. Only Jesus can bring abundance in life. Only Jesus can provide the only way to enjoy a real and vibrant relationship with God. Jesus also said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” John 14:6.

We can still enjoy the things of this world, like college athletics, just as long as we understand that these things can’t fulfill the deepest longest of our heart. I am looking forward to the final College Football Playoff game tonight. I am sure it will be a fun and entertaining game. And maybe it is easy for me to say that since my team won’t be playing and I am not emotionally invested. But even if my Gamecocks were playing for the championship and by some miracle they won (Don’t laugh, it could happen one year, ha!), it would not fulfill me like Jesus does.