McMinnville, OR
Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews, I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. 1Corinthians 9:19-23
In our community there are two kinds of teams. As mentioned a few days ago, the most readily available is the Recreation League which is open to all kids. At this level fun and participation are the goals, which for the less athletic kid is perfect. For the athletic kids; however, the Recreation League can become frustrating. To combat such a gap in talent, parents have developed travelling teams. The theory being that the more talented kids have a better opportunity to compete with higher level kids. Unlike the “Rec League”, the goal seems to be to hone your skills and, of course, to win.
Last week I got a call from a friend of mine “recruiting” one of my sons to join traveling baseball. His recruiting sounded more like begging and the league had made some changes that were more family friendly and with a little bit of hesitancy we said, “Yes.” One pitfall of these traveling leagues is the traveling egos that the parents bring with them. Living vicariously through a talented child is the blessing of old dumb jocks like me, and as I showed up to drop my boy off for tryouts I saw it.
I call it the “Dad Circle”.
In the Dad Circle dads gather the first day or two to brag about their boys. As much as I hate it, before I knew what hit me I was pulled like a fly to light into the infamous Dad Circle where egos run on overload. Ashamedly, no sooner had I entered the Dad Circle then I found myself bragging about my son!
I knew what happens in the Dad Circle but it sucked me into its vortex nonetheless. Finally I shattered the circle by saying the only thing that I knew would break this circle, “I have to go buy some groceries!” Eyes of pity said goodbye as I drove to the store!
Reading today’s scripture reminds men that the ego of the Dad Circle had been distorted. The goal of my Dad Circle was that my son would win over the other dads’. Paul’s goal would be to simply win the other dads. See the difference? Instead of causing separation between men due to ego, a man should unify men in his circle in order to win them to Christ. In verses 19-22 Paul defines winning in the Dad Circle as, “That by all means I might save some.”
The goal, then, is not to win the ego war of the Dad Circle but to win the men within that circle.
