“In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.””
Romans 15:17-21 ESV
Back in 1979 coach Tom Landry of the Dallas Cowboys cut one of his star players, Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson. Henderson had been guilty of a good many distractions to the team but it all came to a head when, with Dallas losing badly, Henderson was on the sideline hamming it up for the national TV audience. In a more circumspect time, this was unimaginable. It showed to one and all, especially to Coach Landry, that Henderson valued his performance and happiness separate from that of the team.
There was another case a year before that in baseball. New York Yankees manager Billy Martin benched his star player, Reggie Jackson, in the middle of an inning. The offense? Martin didn’t think Jackson was hustling enough in the outfield. So, while on a national TV game (and that meant something in an age long before the internet and social media) Martin humbled the game’s richest player.
Still not done, Hank Aaron, while playing in an old-timer’s game one year, ran all out and dove to make a catch in the outfield. Aaron was, of course, retired and getting up there in years so after the game a reporter asked why Hammering Hank would risk hurting himself by going so hard after a ball in a game that was, for all intents and purposes, meaningless. Aaron’s answer? “There are kids watching and they should never think it’s okay not to hustle. Plus, World Series or not, men paid to see me play. They have to give their all at work and so should I.”
The other day, the Yankees lost a game on an extremely close double play. The hitter, Gleyber Torres, a fine young athlete in the prime of his glorious youth, was the final out at first base. He almost made it. The funny thing about it was that while Torres was running to first base his head was turned in order to watch the play across the field. When he saw that the ball was indeed coming to first he put his head down. Now…I’m no expert in this field but I’m pretty sure you can’t run as fast as you can while looking in another direction. And I’m pretty sure a highly paid professional like Torres knows this. Every little leaguer is taught this. But, no matter…he was out and the game was over and no one said a thing. He played the next game. Billy Martin (or Tom Landry for that matter) would likely have benched him for lack of effort.
Why does all this matter? It’s a sign of our culture. Basketball players routinely showboat after making a three-pointer…in the third quarter…with their team losing badly…despite no one under the basket for a rebound had they missed. Fundamentals be damned. It’s everywhere. Modesty and work-ethic are everywhere in decline because the principles of humanism are ascendant. A man that seeks the glory of God will act and work in a way that pursues excellence and the good of the “team”, which is to say, the church. A man that seeks self-glory will have worldly ambitions.
Notice Paul’s ambitions and “boasting” in Romans. He’s proud of the faith of the church in Rome. And he’s ambitious to preach. He’s eager to teach and pour out his heart and soul for his brothers and sisters in Christ. His ambition isn’t ease and financial security. He never mentions retirement. He’s all-in for the work of God all the time. Thus, he measures himself by the “team” and its success. This stands in stark contrast to the world and its standards.
Every Christian knows that Jesus says “he who shall be first will be last…” and “humble yourself and you’ll be exalted.” Why is this important? Is it merely a good piece of advice that keeps up appearances or is there something deeper? The answer ought to be obvious but sin, like smoke from a fire, obscures our vision, chokes us, and kills us. Pride kills because it inverts reality and makes my comfort and glory more important than God. Pride tolerates no challenge to it and considers frustration a mortal wound. Pride puts oneself on the throne of life instead of God. Pride shows up in our aspirations. What is the stuff of our dreams? Is it leisure? Is it Game 7 heroics? Is it wealth? Would you dream of having those things if it meant keeping even the slightest of your sins? Indeed, our hearts are buried in that which we treasure.
In 1989 Sugar Ray Leonard was supposed to easily defeat Tommy Hearns in a rematch of their historic unification bout in 1981. Tommy, you see, had been itching to get another shot at Ray ever since he was KO’d in dramatic fashion in the 14th round of their first bout. Leonard had come from behind in that fight. It had been a match of two prime champions and Sugar Ray emerged as a champion of champions. Now, eight years later, the scuttlebutt was that Tommy was a diminished fighter with a weak chin – easy to knock out.
But on that June night in the desert heat (in the ring it was about 115 degrees), Tommy, on the strength of will no one should ever have doubted, turned back the clock and was better than anyone thought. Especially Ray. In the 11th round of a back-and-forth struggle, Hearns battered Sugar Ray to the canvas with a series of heavy right hands. Leonard landed on all fours. At Tommy’s feet. Late in the fight, exhausted and battered. He sighed. There was still time left in the round and Tommy was waiting to finish him. No one would have blamed him for staying down. But he gathered himself. He rose. And he faced the fury that had been in Tommy for those eight years. And he was pummeled and pummeled…but he hung on…and then Tommy’s arms grew weary.
Ray knew they would. He knew he only had to hang on. Survive.
And then he went after Tommy. Gritting his teeth, blazing away and trying to finish Tommy. He almost did. The match was a draw.
Afterwards, a commentator was asked about the fight. “How could Ray get up from that knockdown? Why would he?”
The commentator shrugged, still in awe himself at what he’d witnessed and said, “Great champions always get up.”
You know something? That’s not entirely true. It’s missing some important context.
Ray came back one too many times – as is often the case in boxing – and age kept him down. Against a fella named Hector Camacho. It was humiliating. You see, sports – especially one like boxing – are seen all wrong. Scripture mentions them in the sense that Christians are athletes. We’re training for the gold medal, for the title, for the championship. When we see Steph Curry hit an impossible shot and our hearts are stirred, or witness Ray grit his teeth and battle back though moments before all had seemed lost, our hearts are stirred. Why? Because it’s a visceral and contemporary representation of the empty tomb! Our champion is Christ. He won’t get old and end up on the canvas groping for his mouthpiece. He won’t hobble off the court someday, unable to stop a youngster’s crossover.
Christ is risen. He’s undefeated.
And, to follow the logic, we’re on His team. So we compete for His honor, not our own. And we identify with His team, the church…our brothers and sisters in the Lord. And our ambition is their spiritual blessing and well-being. That’s the goal and motive of our lives in Christ and it’s the fuel we burn to rise up off the canvas if we’re battered down there by life and/or His enemy’s. Our ambition is to honor Him in all things and we do that by obeying Him and we do that by “training” in prayerful submission, wonder, awe, and worship. We “train” to know His word so well that no matter what our vocation, we are priests of the most High God.
The logic is simple: if we seek our own glory, not God’s, we’ll make shipwreck of our lives and souls. There’s a Hector Camacho in our future – an embarrassing demise. Don’t try and be an alpha-male because Christ is the Alpha and Omega. If our ambition is God – knowing Him, loving Him, and obeying Him – we will be exalted. This is why our athletes praising themselves is all wrong. Know it. Live it. Exalt yourself and you shall be humbled. Our ambition should be His glory, not our own. Let others praise you and not your own lips (Provers 27:2).
And remember: our Lord doesn’t lose. This world is His and has His copyright on it. You can’t lose, though you might be battered here and there. Make your ambition Him and you will stand higher and stronger than you can possibly fathom. Make your ambition anything else and sin will rip you to shreds, humiliate you, scorn you, and leave your naked and bare. Sin will make cowards of all men one way or another. So, we stand strong in Him. Only in Him.
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