Looking To The Cross | Day 24 | Genesis 6:14

When I coached volleyball, one of the games we played in practice was called Queen of the Court, the goal of which is simple: gain and keep the lead. Dominate. Serve more aggressively, pass more accurately, set more strategically, and hit harder than your opponents. 

My life sometimes feels like a game of Queen of the Court. I strive, set goals, create a game plan, and execute the strategy. I long to be my best (a good thing), but at times I want to be THE best (not so good). 

I have to check my heart. Am I striving to be my best in order to make the most of what God has given me—or because I want to impress others and be at the top of the heap?

Too often I become fixated on aggressively spiking balls on the court of my ego, my family, my church, my community, my country. (My goodness!) To make it worse, I throw on an invisible jersey and play a game of Who-Is-The-Greatest? 

We want to be seen as the best and to boast in our best. 

We boast. We post. We brag. We strive. We show. 

Lord, forgive us.

We all want to be great. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. We need to be people of excellence. God calls us to use our talents, personalities, gifts, and energy in productive ways. The problem comes in our motivation. If we’re striving for excellence so others will be oh-so-impressed, then we’re acting out of pride. Instead of elevating our Lord, we’re elevating ourselves.

Lord, forgive us.

Queen of the Court is a useful volleyball drill, but it is not a game Christians should be playing. It honors God when we’re more concerned with His greatness than the greatness of ourselves.