Soggy Footballs and Hardened Hearts

"All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another because God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble."

1 Peter 5:5

Recently, my husband and I tossed a foam football back and forth to one another in our backyard pool. Justin, an avid golfer who, at the age of 46, still plays soccer for a rec league and coaches our youngest in the sport as well, is quite athletic. I, however, make no arguments that I am not! In fact, we often laugh about how non-athletic I am. But as we tossed the ball back and forth in a somewhat mundane fashion, without meaning to, we began to do it faster and faster. Realizing I wasn't doing a terrible job, I said, "Okay, let's see how fast we can throw it back and forth to each other." As we picked up the pace, I was shocked to see that, for a brief moment, I was catching more balls than Justin was! Feeling a little too confident after all the years of razzing about my non-athleticism, I proudly exclaimed, "Would you look at that? I think my reflexes are faster than yours!" as I let out a boastful snicker. (You should know that playful and comedic banter is a large part of my marriage. It's all in good fun, though, I promise). But less than a millisecond after I spoke those puffed-up words, my son shouted, "Mom!" to which my attention quickly turned just in time to get beamed in the side of the head with the wet soggy ball. How is that for our comedic banter?

While my husband made his way over to the shallow end of the pool to check on me, he couldn't help but laugh the entire way, and I couldn't help but feel embarrassed at the arrogant claim I had made just seconds prior. It was almost too perfect for my husband.

Christian, while I hope you got a chuckle out of my story, I also found a lesson for all of us buried within.

Maybe we are walking closely we Christ. Perhaps we are in the Word, and our hearts are aligned with His. We see the protection He provides through our obedience to Him, and we desire for others to know His protection through obedience as well. This is a good desire.

But what if, lately, that desire has turned to an attitude of pride or judgment? What is our response to Christians who open up about their struggle with sin and temptation? What if our hearts become hardened toward people who don't have a perfect "Christian response" to life's troubles? What if we find ourselves eye-rolling or belittling others for not comprehending the truths of the Bible that we, as Christ followers, immerse ourselves in day in and day out? What if, in our walk of faith, our hearts become so complacent that we fail to see the hurting souls who are gripping and clawing just to hang on through this life another day? What if we accept the amazing grace that God poured out for us by sending Jesus to take our place on the cross, but we don't make room for others to share in it too? What if, without meaning to, we have found ourselves climbing up to His throne and attempting to place ourselves where He belongs?

Consider:

-That man who has struggled with addiction again and again . . .

-The woman divorcing her husband after years of hurt and suffering as she fought through a troubled marriage . . .

The neighbor who seems to have strayed away amidst the tragic crisis in their life. . .

-The person on your friends' list who doesn't share your faith (or political views) . . .

-The teen who is struggling with their sexuality. . .

Christian, I want you to ask yourself a few questions and be brutally honest.

-Have you spent as much time praying for these people as you have silently judging them?

-Have you tried to lovingly guide them in the right direction as much as you have complained about them?

-Have you gone to God and asked Him how He might want to use you in their lives?

-Did these questions make you feel like you've been knocked on the side of the head with a wet soggy football?- Or, at the least, nudge your heart to be a little more open?

My goal in writing is never to guilt or shame anyone. I hope to have the opposite effect. However, I do aim for truth, and if your answer was no to these questions, this might signal that you have taken your eye off the ball somewhere along the way. I want to lovingly acknowledge that as you look down on the sins of others, God can also look down on you and see every thought and motive of your heart. His grace will always cover those who belong to Him, but as Christians, we must consider whether we're extending that grace to others.

No matter how close our walk with Jesus may be, it will never put us on the same level as Him. Even Christians are broken- this is why we need Jesus.

Friend, if you see the tendency of pride in your heart, the first step is to acknowledge it. Confess your sin to Jesus and ask Him for forgiveness. Ask Him to pour love and grace out to those struggling around you.

The atmosphere of our hearts has a way of seeping out onto those around us. Is yours providing a safe and comforting environment of grace for those who are struggling? As Christians, our goal should be to uphold the truths of God's Word while also acknowledging that we don't always get it right either because we don't.

We must allow God's Word to transform our hearts. We can study God's Word all day long. But do we allow God's Word to study us? Do we allow it to sink into who we are and make us different? Do we let it humble our hearts and soften our souls to the needs of a broken world, or are we abusing the honor of the gift He has given us?

Christian, just as all people are broken, all people can sometimes be prideful too. God's grace is for all people who put their trust in Him. Today and every day, let's acknowledge our position and look to Him above while helping one another through the brokenness. And hold fast to the truth that if our hearts belong to Him, Grace always wins.