Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God

 Disclaimer: Before reading the article, watch the clip until the end or the article will make no sense. 

As I was watching this video, I thought of these verses: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2) I haven’t lost my mind I promise. I just thought the whole situation is a perfect example of a believer’s most experiences in this life, and since I think in images, I thought this was an apt image to bring home a point.

Observe that all that crowd is there for the Yankee’s baseball team. They’re there to cheer on a game. They all have their own little worlds and reasons, but they’re there for something greater than themselves. I’ve never had any inclination to watch a baseball game, so I had to google how long a game lasts and the answer is between 2.5 to 3 hours. I can’t imagine anything more boring than that, but I’m sure that to the fans it’s quite enjoyable. The little girl is there too and she’s bored, so she begins to do something that in the grand scheme of things or even in relation to the game itself has absolutely no baring. She keeps flipping a water bottle until the people around her, one eye to the game, start encouraging her for no apparent reason. What begins as a joke, I’m sure, turns into a veritable cheerleading squad and they continue to cheer on until she finally lands the bottle in perfect position, and they all rejoice as if their team just scored.

Our Christian walk is not about ourselves. We walk together because we cheer on something greater than ourselves, i.e., the Kingdom of God. We’re all in our own little worlds, with our own little wishes and desires, but from time to time it’s good to look at our ‘bored’ brothers and sisters that are needlessly flipping some water bottle. We might understand how inane the whole endeavour is, but they’re there to cheer with us for the Kingdom, and if flipping a bottle is important to them, my goodness, just cheer them on until they land the silly thing! You just look like a perfect idiot if you start going around at every person in the crowd trying to convince everybody that “hey, this is not why we’re here!” or “this little girl should just focus on the game because she’s distracting everybody from the main thing”, or “how does landing the bottle help the advancement of the game?!” Brother, bored or not that little child is there to cheer Christ on. Nobody made you cheer squad policeman, so relax and if you can’t cheer them on, then just be quiet.

To all the cheerers our there, those that can keep an eye on the game but also look around them, bless your hearts, encourage the lame, and the saddened, and the bored, and the hurt in the Body of Christ and I promise you that the whole heaven will rejoice with you when it’s finally your turn to flip a bottle perfectly.

“And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.” (1 Thessalonians 5:14-15)

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31)

By Cristina Pop