This story appears in FCA Magazine’s November/December 2016 issue. Subscribe today!
Sir Isaac Newton was the first to truly understand gravity. What goes up must come down.
I don’t think former basketball greats Julius Erving or Michael Jordan understood gravity, judging by their seemingly endless “hang time” as they floated through the air for dunks. Only a rare few have that kind of physical ability to “defy gravity,” but every Christian possesses the power to defy gravity in the spiritual world.
The gravitational power to sin entered the world when Adam and Eve negotiated the non-negotiable. Satan, in serpent form, got them to rationalize what God had already said regarding what—and what not—to eat. Thus, the first people God created sinned, turning a once-perfect world into a cesspool of evil desires that have haunted and cursed us ever since. However, as Christ-followers, we rejoice in Jesus because of His death upon the cross, followed by His miraculous resurrection. That is defying gravity.
Anyone who believes in Jesus as Savior and Lord, leading to sincere repentance, receives eternal life. The Holy Spirit defies the gravitational pull of sin on this earth that will continue until Jesus returns and eradicates all evil and sin.
We all have the power to live holy, sanctified lives for Christ, but we still struggle in a sin-stained society flooded with strong temptations, especially in the athletic world. Just watch any TV broadcast of a major sporting event and pay attention to the advertising during commercial breaks. Those messages penetrate into our hearts with a fierce gravitational pull that is pleasing to the eye, ear and mouth of sinful people. If we are not diving into God’s Word multiple times per day and week, our appetite will drift into “junk food” for the brain, and our hearts and thoughts will numb to the discernment of God’s Word in our decision-making.
For example, Christians in the coaching world have often told me, “Every assistant coach desires to be a head coach.” Or every college athlete should desire to be a pro athlete. That’s just not in the Bible. That’s something the world has taught us as truth.Sometimes that might be God’s will, but certainly not always.
Scripture is filled with examples of people who faithfully and powerfully honored God despite not being “head coaches”: Joseph, Nehemiah, Esther, Mordecai, Elisha, Elijah, Caleb, Jonathan, James, John, Paul, Barnabas and many others. Elisha, God’s prophet during an evil era of leadership in Israel, is a particularly great example. The people of Israel who wanted to serve God knew that Ahab, the unfaithful king at the time, was controlled by the gravitational pull of sin. They instead looked to Elisha, a true man of God, for guidance. Elisha was clearly Israel’s leader, even though he was not the “head coach.”
Stop chasing worldly definitions of greatness and start chasing God’s truth. Everyone believes you are more “successful” when you are the top dog. That’s not what Scripture teaches. Jesus rebuked His disciples when they were arguing over who would be the greatest among them. He told them whoever was least would actually be the greatest, turning their worlds upside down and defying gravity in the way they would go on to view success.
The world says to claw to be on top. But God doesn’t always work that way. Jesus was tempted by Satan to accept the world’s top position and applause. Instead He chose what God had planned for Him—a life spent among the neglected and a scorn-filled death on a cross at the hands of mockers.
Listen, a career is what you get paid for, but a calling is what you are made for. None of us will find God’s specific call on our lives if we are keeping score by the world’s definition of success. Our thoughts, heart and will must be saturated with Scripture, and we must apply gospel-centric decision-making in every aspect of our lives. The Holy Spirit is given to us to stay in fellowship with Jesus, giving us the power to live holy lives and defy sin’s gravitational pull.
Please don’t automatically assume that an offer for more prestige, money, fame, applause—whatever it might be—is an offer from God. It might be, but it also might have Satan’s fingerprints upon it. Like Jesus, you and I better be able to offset the gravitational pull of sin through an intimacy with God that comes from time in His Word and communication with Him in prayer. There are no shortcuts. God does not define success the way we do.
John the Baptist “got it” when his ministry numbers started to decline, and his flock began to join Jesus. When questioned about this, John said humbly, “He (Jesus) must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30, RSV).
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