Yep. God knew what he was doing... he gave me 3 wonderful, busy, crazy, football lovin' boys. I mean...they LOVE football. I prophesy that one will be a sports commentator, one will be a team chaplain and the last...well, its too early to call that one. But since I love college football myself, I thought the penalty analogy was only fitting for the way I think most of us have started the holiday season. We started before the whistle blew. It's a "false start" and we need to repeat the down. Read on....
I might have said this before but I think its worth repeating. There is nothing... NOTHING we can do to earn more of God's love. Nada. He loved us so much that he created the earth so we could live on it. He made us in his own image! And, because he realized that no matter how many times he tried to save us...we don't do so well with following rules. Eve... apples... 10 commandments... yep, we blew it. So, once and for all he did the unthinkable as a parent... he sacraficed his only Son so that once and for all, a new convenant could be made between Himself and us. For all who believe in His Son, it is God's free gift to us; being made right with Him even though we did nothing to deserve it.
Now... no amount of brown-nosing, good deeds, buy-off's or good samaritan acts are going to make God love you more. Your performance does not change your position as far as God is concerned. Backwards from the rest of the world, I know... but most things are when it comes to God. That is what might make it so hard; we are socially and emotionally programmed to tie performance to position and even, dare I say... self worth. At work, the better your performance, the higher your position over time (and for stay at home moms...this promotion ladder could take decades!) Just about anywhere in the world, the better we perform, the better we feel about ourselves and the better the world sees us.
But think about it. Think about the Holiday season that is in full swing. How do you view it? Is it a race? Is it a week after week "keeping up with the Jonses?" Are you to the point that your holiday statement looks something like this?
If any of this resonates with you... let me give you some practical advice. Knock it off! Stop it. False start... on the offense... NO PENALTY... repeat first down. God loves you just as you are. He doesn't care if your door wreath came from Michael's craft store, the overpriced Nursery down the long country road or if you didn't ever get around to hanging the wreath up. He isn't giving bigger houses in Heaven to the family's who made the best chocolate krinkle cookies. And, hold your holy horses, because he also is not going to love you more than your neighbor if you spent the entire month serving soup in a homeless shelter. (But you will glorify God to the masses, so don't cancel your holiday serving plans!)
What I am trying to say is that the only one putting pressure on yourself this holiday is you. Tis the season to glorify God and his ultimate sacrafice... the rest... well, we pile that on ourselves. I'm certainly not judging anyone for taking time to make their home beautiful, bake delicious cookies or even shop for presents. God gave you gifts and talents and made each one of us unique... I know for one friend that a beautiful home brings her joy and you know what, she does it effortlessly because its the way God designed her. For others, the holidays aren't complete if they haven't hosted a party that benefitted a charity in need.
I hope that for those who read this, you'll simply step back and before you repeat the down... take a look at your play book. In your 1-man offensive stategy, what's your goal? (You knew I had to bring it back to football!) What's your "reason behind the season?" And if you started off this season with a "false start," don't be so hard on yourself. Just get back in the huddle, reset, and start the play over again. I have a feeling the rest of the holiday season will be a victory.
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