Who's Team Are You On - A Little Light No. 23
What's your favorite sports team? Picture this.
You're in a stadium with hundreds of people cheering for the same team. If you're watching football, you might high-five the person next to you and begin singing the chant song after your team score. At that moment, you and everyone else is fully focused on what's happening. You’re cheering so loud you leave with a horsed voice. Even outside of the stadium, you are friendly with everyone who is wearing the same team’s jersey as you. You return home exhausted from a 3-hour event that turned into a full-day affair.
I like to claim the Eagles since I live in Philly, but the Washington football team is my home team. Truthfully, neither of them has been much good in the past year. I did not fully understand the hype of football until watching Temple beat Penn State in the first game of the season my freshman year. I felt a sense of belonging and pride. That year I went to almost every home game after. We celebrated every win with our cherry and white singing T for Temple U. Our allegiance is to our team.
In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul asks the people of Corinthians who’s team are they on? He writes, "For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings? What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task.” See the people of Corinth were taking teams and Paul had to remind them they were misplacing their allegiance. He goes on to write, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.”
When originally reading 1 Corinthians, I thought Paul wrote us a guide of exactly what not to do. We should learn from the mistakes of the Corinthians. As I reread the chapter, I realized this is not just a letter to the Corinthians, this is a letter to us as believers and to me personally. Paul is telling me not to place my faith in things and people of this earth, but only in God. No one has all of the answers. Paul didn't, and neither do the preachers we watch on Sunday morning. Nothing or no one can replace a relationship depended on God.
I began to think, what I gave my all to God like I would support a football team? What I repped God as much as I do other teams? The impact would be transformational.
Here are some questions for you to consider:
Who do you seek wisdom from?
Where do you draw your allegiance?
Have you had more faith in something than you have in God?
Take this with you:
So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. Paul's words, simple as that.
Comment below if you have any thoughts or any answers to the questions I've asked. Please share with a friend! If you aren’t already subscribed to receive this message in your email, you can do so using this link!