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.