Remember when you were a kid and your parents would talk
about earning privileges? Whenever we would
show some responsibility, we might be allowed certain opportunities that would
otherwise not have been permissible, or even better, when we were allowed to do
things that our brothers and/or sisters could not!! I would like to show you from the Bible how
God gives this same opportunity to those who are His children. Accepting Christ as Saviour is free and is
available to everyone, but God’s blessings are not free, though they are
readily available!
I am certain that most of you
heard about this incident and are familiar with the story. I would like to take a moment to refresh our
memories about Mr. Mathieu’s story, and explore the idea of learning from his
experience. On
Friday, August 10, 2012, LSU Coach Les Miles made the announcement of the
dismissal of LSU football star Tyrann Mathieu.
Mathieu was a college sensation who was nicknamed “The Honey Badger”
during the Tigers 13-0 run to the BCS championship game in the 2011-2012 season.
He regularly made big plays on defense, including two fumble returns for
touchdowns, and had two punt returns for touchdowns late in the
season. But the 5-feet-9, 175-pound Mathieu also ran afoul of a drug issue
with two teammates last season. Mathieu, running back Spencer Ware and
cornerback Tharold Simon were suspended for the Auburn game after testing positive
for synthetic marijuana. Mathieu, who
would have been a junior this season, was likely destined to skip his senior
season and apply to the NFL draft in April 2013. In two seasons, the New Orleans native and St.
Augustine alum played in 26 games and recorded 133 tackles with 16 for loss and
four interceptions. He holds the LSU career record for forced fumbles with 11
and is third in recoveries with eight. He also averaged 15.6 yards on 27 punt
returns. He paired with Morris Claiborne
to become the first teammates named All American at cornerback by the
Associated Press. The legend of the honey badger grew throughout the year and
climaxed when he electrified Tiger Stadium with a 92-yard, game-changing punt
return for a touchdown to help beat Arkansas, while playing safety for the
first time. The next week, he scored on a 62-yard punt return and set up
another touchdown with a 47-yarder as LSU rallied past Georgia. He was SEC Defensive Player of the Year and
captured the “Chuck Bednarik Award” as the top defensive player in the nation.
He finished fifth in the Heisman balloting and garnered 34 first-place
votes. Now his options are more limited.
He would have to sit out if he transfers to a Football Bowl Subdivision (1-A)
team but could play immediately if he is accepted as a transfer at a Football
Championship Subdivision (1-AA) school or lower. (Edited excerpt of Jim Kleinpeter’s report for the Times Picayune)
Regardless
of Tyrann’s potential or his ability to make contributions to the team, he was
given exactly what his actions had warranted.
During the football season he was rewarded for his performance on the
field, and during the off-season he learned that there is also a negative side
to that rule. In Proverbs 3, God breaks down His benefits for us. We are allowed the privilege to decide what we
want out of life and He tells us exactly how to get it! Serving God is not mysterious or complicated;
it’s laid out like a formula with a guaranteed outcome. Our heavenly Father keeps this very simple
for us. It is cause and effect; your
reward or punishment depends on your desire and effort.
Often times, some believers will trap
themselves in a negative, carnal mindset and convince themselves that people
who are without God and are free to make their own choices have an easier life
than they do. The devil enjoys being
able to bring a child of God to this discouraged point in their lives. I think of it this way, before we accept
Christ as our Saviour, we are like His neighbor’s child. God still loves us, and he would do his best
to keep us from harm or be willing to give us a ride if we needed one, but he
is not 100% responsible for our every need.
The envy of God’s children comes in when He gives the neighbor’s child
$20 for cutting the grass for Him! We as
His children have done this time after time and never received $20 for doing
that; so, we convince ourselves that God is not being fair to us. What we fail to realize is that God took on
complete responsibility for us when He became our Father, and now we have an obligation
to obey. He meets our every need, and
tells us in His Word exactly what to do to receive the blessings we desire from
Him. The real problem is we want what we
cannot have, and that is to live according to the flesh and not the Spirit
without consequence!!
Believer, it is a privilege to be a
child of the King! We need to keep the
right perspective on our relationship and realize that God will never
compromise with us. He will not sit back
and silently watch us live contrary to the Scriptures. This is a unique relationship that we have
with Him; because, most relationships require compromise in order to
succeed. The reason we compromise is
because both parties must admit some wrong doing and agree to change, but God
has never and will never do wrong and as a result cannot compromise! Being a Christian is not easy, but it is a
privilege well worth the effort.
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