Matthew 5:9 (NLT)
God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.
In roughly ten seconds you will tune me out but I’m going there anyway. Real Madrid and FC Barcalona are two of the biggest soccer clubs in the world, competing yearly for global and Spanish titles. They are such bitter rivals that its not uncommon for riots to break out both on and off the pitch (field) when they meet. The bitter rift bled into the Spanish national team as well, where players from both clubs would come together to play in such competitions as the World Cup and Euros (take my word for it, they’re huge tournaments).For years, they lost match after match and tournament after tournament because they wouldn’t pass the ball to one another or work as one unit. World class athletes who looked like a JV squad at a losing high school. They’d rather lose than allow a player from the other club to get the glory of scoring a goal. After decades of this, the two were unified under a new coach, who preached teamwork, about how two horses hitched together can pull more than double what they can separately. The painstaking process took time but the players began to buy into the vision. Now Spain is widely regarded as one of the best teams in the history of soccer, winning Euro 2008, World Cup 2010, and Euro 2012, the first team ever to win three prestigious tournaments in a row.
If you were able to stay with me, think of how this applies to our lives and the lives of those at Refuge (or your home church). What are your motives? What is your mind set? Are you concerned with reaching the lost for Jesus despite whether or not you receive the credit? Do you serve the church out of a love for GOD and others…or for yourself? Would you rather see your brothers and sisters succeed …or do you secretly wish they’d fail to make you feel better about yourself? Do you gossip about weaknesses and tear down people…or work toward a total transformation by encouraging and leaning on them? Answer honestly and see if you’re developing the mind of Christ.
Application: Make up your mind (and follow through with action) to be cooperative rather than competitive
Mindful Meditation: Dwell on your motives for a few minutes. Release any selfish motives to GOD and ask for his merciful forgiveness. Fill the void with the Be-Attitudes.
