Parents, Don't Go Changin':* Words From COVID 19 quarantine

 Parents, In the words of Billy Joel "don’t go changin’ to try and please me" (or anyone else). My peewee football coach was looking for a new defensive lineman, I felt safe because I was one of the smallest kids on the team. However, this peewee coach wanted every kid to try the position for a few plays. The first few plays worked out pretty good for me. Getting hit was not something I enjoyed, so I decided to be like water, “taking the path of least resistance.” Aided by my small size, I was able to slip past the large offensive linemen and sack the quarterback a couple of times. The coaches were thrilled, but when they watched a little closer they discovered that I was making minimal contact with the offensive line. I don’t know what they were thinking, but they said you have to hit the offensive lineman before you sack the quarterback… didn’t make any sense to me. But because the coach said it, I knew I had to do it. I was going up against a kid that outweighed me by probably 20 lbs and when you only weigh 40 lbs that is a big difference. So, I lined up opposite this large kid. I knew a little bit of physics from smashing my hot wheels cars together… the biggest car or truck always won. I knew it would take all that I had to go up against this kid. The ball was snapped and I lunged forward with all my might. The larger kid wasn’t expecting it and I knocked him down and, of all things, he started to cry. I was conflicted, I had hurt my fellow player, but the coaches were going wild, jumping up and down and high fiving each other, so maybe this was a good thing? They said, “do it again,” and they put another kid up against me. So, once again with all my might, I butted him like a young spindly legged billy goat. However, this kid knew what was coming because he had just watched the 7 year old version of the now illegal “Oklahoma drill.” We stalemated and then the whistle finally blew. All I wanted to do was go back to the defensive secondary where you didn’t get hit every play, but apparently my efforts to not end up like the smaller hot wheels car had earned me the title of “newest offensive lineman.” I know right? How does the smallest kid, who was put in as defensive lineman, end up as an offensive linemen… SMH. So, for that season, which was, by the way, my last season of playing organized football, I was the offensive guard. I was always going up against kids twice my size. So, I didn’t like playing any more, I wasn’t “all in” (unless it was a game of pick up football with the neighbor kids on the church field next to my house). That season, football always meant pain and any rewards seemed minimal to me. Kudos to my son and other linemen, who play offensive line for their whole football career and love it. Linemen seem to have this special fraternity. It is like a club, if you are a lineman, you know it. I never saw myself belonging to that group, but I was so eager to please those coaches, that I tried to change who I was, to become the player they needed… this never ends well especially if you are 40 lbs dripping wet and they want you to be a lineman.

When we belong to Jesus and connect our life with His, He changes us and makes us a new person, a new creation. God does the changing… we are changed by our connection to Him and His people. When we become that new person, sin no longer fits our life. We are not trying to please people all the time. We are not trying to be who the world wants us to be or says we are supposed to be. We are “all in” for pleasing God by being the new creation He has made us to be. Paul reminds us to be who we are… in Christ. He reminds us that we are not who we used to be, we aren’t slaves to sin anymore and we shouldn’t try to be someone we are not. A 6’8 NBA basketball player is never going to be a horse jockey in the Kentucky Derby and a 4’11 Derby horse jockey is never going to play in the NHL. Both may be excellent athletes, but they have to be who they are. As people who belong to God, we don’t do things that disrespect or dishonor God or His Word. We don’t do things that He says not to do. And we don’t do things that hurt people. We are lovers of God and lovers of those He loves. Hate, harm and disrespect don’t fit us anymore regardless of who wants to tell us we should act like that because that's how the world is. Paul says, “... that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT2) In our new self, sin no longer has a place in our life. When we belong to Jesus Christ we are a new creation. So, “don’t go changin’ to try and please” people, if it doesn’t match what pleases God.

Hang in there People! God is with us! I’m praying for us all!