To Whom Much is Given Much is Expected

Over the last couple of weeks there has been a media firestorm over a possible connection between Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick and dog fighting.
Vick has been linked to dog fighting because he owns a home where dog fighting paraphernalia was discovered. It is, at this time, unclear as to his involvement in the grotesque and brutal, not to mention illegal (it is a felony if convicted) activity of placing dogs into a ring and forcing them to battle each other until one is dead.
I have been shocked at the number of people who have come out on talk radio and other media outlets to support this disgusting act at okay. How can anyone think that such a brutal and inhumane display could be acceptable?
Ironically, I will be rooting for the Atlanta Falcons this coming football season, well maybe not for the whole team, but for one Falcon player in particular. On a recent airplane flight three weeks ago, a young man sat down next to me and we started talking. He wasn’t particularly huge or struck me as an athlete, but when I said, “So, what do you do for a living?” He replied, “I play linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons.” His name is Marcus Wilkins and he played at the University of Texas six years ago. He is a native of Austin and resides now in Katy. He has played for Green Bay and Cincinnati. He was so polite and easy-going and a really nice guy to visit with for the two hour flight. He is engaged and attends church as much as possible (of course he works most Sundays). I was so impressed, I became a fan! I told him I would pray for his safety because as he said, “it’s real” out there. After we exited the plane and waited for our luggage, I waved goodbye and he said, “Pray for me!” and I said, “I will.”
Marcus Wilkins is a breath of fresh air as opposed to all of the professional athletes who have been in the media recently for bad behavior. I also know that the huge majority of those athletes give of their time and talent to help others and live a clean life. Luke 12:48 says, “To everyone whom much is given, much is expected, and from the one who is entrusted with much, much more will be expected.” Athletes today are celebrities and whether they know it or not are role models. But, so are you! Someone looks up to you and sees how you live and behave. Your salvation doesn’t depend on your behavior, but it may influence someone else in a positive manner. In this case, as the old Gatorade commercial used to say, “Do you want to be like Mike (Jordan)?” No, I’ll take a humble guy like Marcus as a role model for me and my kids.
But it is deeper than that. You and I have been given so much and we are role models too. No matter if you are a parent, a kid, or just a guy working at a one of our local plants, you have been given so much by God. Use it for good. God expects as much! When you meet your maker, be sure that you are able to give a good accounting for what God has given to you.

A Powerful Combination

Have you ever thought about salt? For centuries salt has been used to preserve meat, to flavor, and even to clean. When you think about salt from a chemical aspect you may be surprised by the two elements involved, sodium and chlorine. While sodium is a harmless element that bonds easily with other elements, chlorine is a poisonous gas. It is ironic that such a toxin (chlorine) once combined with another element becomes so useful.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no good for anything except to be thrown out and be trampled on by men.”
For a Christian, love and truth can be like chlorine and sodium. Each can be dangerous alone, but together they can create an essential part of a Christian life. For example, love without truth can be flighty, blind, and can lead to the acceptance of false beliefs. We see this kind of love in cults and misguided emotional followings. Love is to be tempered with truth. I certainly love people, but I also know that the Bible tells me that Satan is at work in the world wherever he can get a toe hold in someone’s life. We certainly cannot meet every action or statement with love.
Likewise, truth by itself can be abrasive, offensive, and maybe even a bit poisonous. I remind my church members that evangelism is practiced with the truth in love. One cannot proclaim the gospel, the truth, without doing so in love and expect any non-believer to hear anything other than someone being judgmental. Such truth told without love simply wounds and poisons the possibility of reaching a non-believer.
When the two elements of love and truth come together, it becomes “the salt of the earth.” I am reminded of a story of a pastor who returned to visit his former congregation. He watched the current pastor and listened. After the service he asked a leader of the church, “I preached the same basic message that your pastor preached when I was here, but you didn’t like my preaching. Now I hear him saying the same things I said and you all seem to love him. Why is that?” The leader responded, “When you were here you did preach the same message, but you did so with a scowl on your face and a harsh tone in your voice. This guy preaches with a tear in his eye. He tells us the same truth; he just does it with love.” The former pastor walked away puzzled. You are the salt of the earth! Tell someone about your walk of faith, not in a prideful or superior manner, but out of love for that person and the salvation that lies within the gospel truth. And be sure, always sure, that you use the right combination of truth and love in doing so.