Michael L. Parks

I know what you’re thinking: “How does selling stolen stereos out of the back of a van help the Son of God?” Well, just think of all the things we could do with the money we would make! We could build schools, support missionaries, or buy a sweet bus for the youth group, complete with 20 plasma screens, a sub-woofer the size of an NFL linebacker, and a fold-out half-pipe. Okay, just kidding. That’s not what I’m talking about at all. But if someone would like to donate that bus, I could definitely put it to good use.

Today, the sports world is abuzz about Hanley Ramirez, the Shortstop for the Florida Marlins. If you haven’t seen or heard what happened last night, check out the video here.

Hanley accidentally kicks the ball into the left field corner, then jogs after it, showing absolutely no hustle and no concern for the runners rounding the bases. Two runs score, and the batter ends up on third base. Florida Manager Fredi Gonzalez benched Ramirez for this pathetic display, and after the game, Ramirez not only showed no remorse, he actually criticized his coach.

Ramirez has shown the sports world that it’s about him. Whether he feels this way or not, it appears that he does not care about his teammates nor his coach. If he wants to jog after a ball instead of sprint, he should be able to do that.

Before you are too quick to point your finger, ask yourself if you might be the same way when it comes to your church family. For you, is church about God and your spiritual brothers and sisters, or is it about you? Do you complain that you are not being fed, yet you never feed others? Do you argue that your needs aren’t being met while you ignore the needs of those around you? Do you wish that your church did more, even though you don’t lift a finger?

The church is Christ’s body (1 Corinthians 12.27), and we all play a part. Just like the Marlins cannot win a championship if one player doesn’t want to hustle, Christ cannot complete his work if you or I decide we don’t want to “hustle” or give it our all. When I make church (Christ’s body) about me, the whole body suffers (1 Corinthians 12.26), including myself and Jesus.

As a disciple of Christ, you are part of a team, a body, a church. If Christ is to complete his mission to bring the whole world to him (Ephesians 1.9-10), then we must put aside our selfish desires and give it all to him and his church. Our attitude should be the same as that of Jesus himself, “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! (Philippians 2.6-8).

Let’s ask ourselves: “Have I made church about me instead of about Christ and his followers? What can I do for someone else at church? How can I use my talents to serve my church? Am I an encouragement or a discouragement to other Christians? What am I doing to meet the needs of the people around me? Do I have the attitude of Christ?”