I know what you are thinking.
There is no way that I used to be a good athlete. Sometimes I forget that I was
as well. I weighed 145 pounds when I graduated from college, could dunk a
basketball, and was college soccer player. It wasn't until a horrific car
accident that I really got serious about music and ministry. That story is not
for today. But it will appear I promise.
I went to Indiana Wesleyan on a
soccer scholarship. From the time I was a young child every Saturday morning
was game day during the spring, summer and fall. The high school I attended had
a reputation for being the worst soccer team...well...maybe ever:) My freshman
year I started at striker and found out real fast not only how terrible we
were, but how terrible I was. It felt like I was in a pinball machine. That
year we recorded a stunning 0-15 record. We did however have many freshman on
the team so we were hopeful that next year would be better. It was!!!!!
0-14-1!!! Hurray! (sarcasm) Junior season we broke through and came away with a
6-9 record. We were at least competitive in the games we lost. I began to excel
in the sport, my personal stats began to impress, and my senior year we brought
home a winning season, 9-6-1 which I believe was the first winning season in
the schools history, although I am uncertain about this. I led the league in
two statistical categories, goals, and red cards. If I wasn't scoring I was
evidently punching and kicking people or arguing with the refs. It was ugly.
The memories of High School
soccer came flooding back to me several years ago when I did a study on the 10
Commandments. It was invigorating to study something that you memorized as a
kid and find out that many of the commandments meant something entirely
different than what you had been taught.
Specifically commandment 3-
Exodus 20:7 “You shall not take
the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him
unpunished who takes His name in vain.
Now it was always explained to me
in the most simplest of terms that this commandment was about speech. We had a
list. Don't say "Oh My God" or "Jesus Christ" in a way that
is disrespecting the nature of God. This is most definitely true. We even had
deviations of the name of God that were frowned upon. Here are a few- Gosh,
Geeze, Geezy Peezy, Golly Jee and Jeepers. Hey, they were half way there and
God knows what you meant so repent ye woeful sinner. As I began to break it
down word by word I realized it meant so much more.
The word "Take" in the
original Hebrew is the word "Nesa or Nesah". It is an agricultural
word. It is used in several places throughout scripture in mundane settings
regarding a simple bodily action required to get something from one place to
the next. It rarely has anything to do with speech. When a slave, who would often
be carrying these items was captured in ancient times, the first thing that
would usually happen is the marking or branding of that person so that everyone
knew who's slave that was.
When we "take" the name
of God as a seal upon our hearts through the transformative act of salvation,
we are marked. We are Gods child. Forever. Therefore we "take" the
name of God with us where ever we go. Now this has some profound implications.
We we take the name, we are now God's representatives on earth. My mind began
to wander...
So when we are standing in the
express lane at the grocery store with our 5 items and the person in front of
us has 19 items because because we COUNTED...TWICE...we don't have the luxury
of tearing that person apart for their obvious lack of sympathy for those of us
who are actually busy. Why? We are carrying The Name.
When we are in the left lane on a
freeway and the person in front of us is going 55 miles an hour, holding up
traffic, while texting, we can't drive past and give them "the look".
smile emoticon
Why? We are carrying The Name.
I quickly began to realize that
Commandment 3 was not just about speech, but it was about every detail and
action of my life. That as an ambassador of Christ, I carry his name with me
everywhere. In public, and in private, and we all know the phrase "who you
are in private, is who you are". Ouch. I liked the old understanding of
commandment 3 better. Can I unlearn this God? I think I'd rather live in
ignorance...
My Father, a soft-spoken man who
measures his words, and never wastes them was rarely at one of my soccer games.
We were poor, and he worked very hard at two jobs so I could have the 160
dollar diadora bazzio soccer cleats. Whenever possible he did come. On this
particular night, I wish he hadn't. It was an important game. If we beat this
team, we were going to the playoffs for the first time in years. We actually
drew a crowd. Which for River Valley Soccer is on par with the parting of the
Red Sea. Dad was there, the music was blaring, the adrenaline was flowing and
the game began. I scored in the first minute. The crowd went bonkers. My Dad
went bonkers, which means he lightly clapped. Then on the very next kickoff one
of their defensemen tried to take me out with a high slide tackle to the knee.
I managed to avoid it...but not the brawl that followed. Punches were thrown
and I was given, as usual, the red card. Not only was I kicked out of the game,
but I was kicked out of the stadium. On my way out I made sure to kick over the
gatorade cooler and managed to piece together a profanity laced tirade as I
exited in shame. My mom just put her hands over her face in embarrassment. My
dad just stared at me. It wasn't a mean stare. More confusion than anything. I
made my way to my car and drove home. That night at dinner my mom didn't say a
word. Dad, the quiet one, had one thing to say. Profound is an understatement
as it has stuck with me ever since.
"hey, whats on the back of
your Jersey?"
"my number"
"no above that"
"my last name"
"No. Thats MY last name. It
was given to you. Its your sisters last, your moms last name and your
grandparents last name. Son, when you act like that, its not just a reflection
of yourself, it is a reflection of everyone who has our last name"
Tears began to flow down my
cheeks and that night something changed in me. I realized that my actions don't
simply affect me, but my family as well. I was heartbroken. I had carried my
families name in vain.
Every day we wake up and we have
a choice to either carry the Fathers name in vain or in a way that reflects the
loving nature of the Father who gave us that name when we became his children
through His Son Christ Jesus.
Obviously I screw this up every
day. Through God's strength I've gotten better....
Unless I am behind a person
driving 55 in the left lane while texting....i'm just not there yet...
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