A Healthy Heart

Jill wants to be a starter, but Shay is more talented and plays while Jill sits on the bench. Jill would never tell anyone, but when Shay plays poorly or gets injured, Jill feels mixed emotions because it means more playing time for her. Eric likes his teammate Jamal, but when Jamal has success, Eric feels two things he is not proud of – upset that Jamal was honored and upset that Eric wasn’t. Sarah cares far more about how she performs than if the team wins or loses.

None of these reactions should be part of a healthy team, but they are a reality. If you take an honest look into your heart, you may find that you have experienced some emotions that certainly do not belong in the heart of a Christ follower. In a Kingdom where Jesus commands us to love our enemies, isn’t it obvious that we should love our teammates?

Why do you have these feelings you don’t want? Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable – who can understand it?” Can that change? Yes. Pray the bold prayer of the psalmist: Search me…test me…see if there is any offensive way in me.

With the Lord’s help you can be the teammate everyone wants to have. Your team can be life-giving, filled with players who accept their roles and celebrate the success of others.