M-G: 3.8.14 // Going After the Ball, Matthew 22:37

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Passage: Mt 22:37-40

When my son was knee-high to a grasshopper, he loved playing soccer; that was his sport of choice. He practiced during the week and played competitively on Saturdays. I distinctly remember the first competitive game he had ever played. I was standing on the sidelines, and he was playing the right forward position when out of nowhere he decided to pick a bright yellow dandelion flower growing on the field as the ball was rolling by him. I shouted, with both arms extended downwards and palms up and gesturing, as if making an offering, pleading, and pointing, an all-in-one gesture in a pendulum motion, to get the ball, “Alex, the ball, the ball!” 

Oddly, everything went into slow motion; my mouth was slurring, “The ball...,” as my arms slightly and slowly went up and down toward the ball. As the soccer ball rolled past him, he spotted it. In what seemed like an eternity, he dropped the dandelion flower and went after the ball. Daddy exhaled a big sigh of relief. I don’t remember if his team ever won the game or not, but I remember the deal with the dandelion flower. It was a Kodak moment that was as colorful as it was funny.

When he got a little older, I began the post-game coaching on the way home. Some of his missed assignments on the field were upsetting to me due to a lack of focus and lethargic effort. I spoke to him in the rearview mirror, “You need to do this or that and stay focused.” I never raised my voice, but I wasn’t really helping him to improve as a player with a father-knows-best attitude. I was putting undue pressure on my son. Then one day while going through the traditional post-game show in the car, God gave me the wisdom to simply shut up and realize I was only frustrating my son and not allowing him to develop.

I am sure it frustrated him that he couldn’t please his father. I wasn’t one of those parents in the stands who made a fool of themselves and revealed their parenting techniques. I once told my son, “Be thankful I am not like Mr. So and So!” I never criticized his coaches privately or publicly; we were fortunate he had good coaches, but I wanted my son to give his whole heart to the game if he was going to play. A person not giving 100% is easy to spot. It was a pretty high standard to expect early on; I admit, but this came after a couple of years of experience on the field. I know of adults who struggle with giving their all; everything is half-hearted with them, with no total commitment to anything. Giving all can be a challenge, but I believed in my son’s mental and physical abilities.

One day we had a talk on a new strategy to motivate and elevate his performance on the field. I apologized for all the post-game criticisms. Going forward, I promised to leave that all on the field for the coaches. All I required of him was to give 100% in his performance on the field, no half-hearted funny business. If he did that then the time and money invested into him to play soccer would be worth it, but giving it his all was the only thing that I demanded from him. There would be no negotiation or settling for anything less, no wiggle room.

I further explained to him that I didn’t expect him to be the best player on the team; if he was, that would only be icing on the cake. But whether he was 2, 3, 4, or last, the only expectation was that he gave his best whenever he stepped out on the field for practice or for a game (cf. 1 Cor 10:31). He would benefit from it and so would the team. He agreed.

From that day forward Alex lived up to the expectations while playing soccer throughout his years living at home. I never said another negative word about his performance either and no more post-game analysis. As agreed, we supported him with our time, and money, and were there at all the practices and games. It was a pleasure and a privilege to see him play. He was a great kid and a solid soccer player.

One day he was honored by Nike as an academic all-American. My jaw dropped! You know what I thought about? I thought about that little blond hair kid picking a dandelion flower on the soccer field and who would have guessed that that flower child would transform into an academic all-American soccer player. I was so thankful God taught me to keep my mouth shut that day and to expect a higher standard of performance of giving no less than 100% on the field. Goodness, my son exceeded all expectations! He taught me a thing or two through his total commitment to being the best he could possibly be. He truly gave his all.

In some ways, this illustrates what God expects from each of us which I call the prime directive of all of Scripture. Rather than quoting some creed, I’ll let Jesus do the talking. Jesus spelled it out one day to a lawyer or scribe who specialized in the interpretation of the Mosaic Law. The lawyer approached Jesus to test Him and solicited His opinion on an aspect of the Law,

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law” (Mt 22:36)? 

Jesus replied,

“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment” Mt 22:37-38).

This was the stock answer the lawyer was expecting. What he wasn’t expecting was that Jesus didn’t stop there!

“And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Mt 22:39-40).

Note that the scribe referred to the “great commandment” (singular). He was referring to part of the “Shema” (Heb. “hear,” Deut 6:4) recited on a daily basis by devout Jews. Jesus addresses the lawyer’s condescension, pretentious piety, ignorance of spiritual truth, and hypocrisy by referring not to one (as in singular) but two commandments; one found in Deut 6:5 and the other in Lev 19:18. The Jews boasted of their monotheism, and how much they loved the LORD and His Law but were picking and choosing what neighbor to love and which one to hate (e.g., Gentiles, Samaritans, enemies, lawbreakers, tradition-breakers, etc). 

In His response Jesus revealed the difference between living by the letter of the Law and the spirit of the Law or hearers and doers of the Word (cf. Jas 1:22). While the legal “experts” of the Law separated the two commandments to fit their own agendas, Jesus coupled them together and made them inseparable, “the second is like it,” or “On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets!”

The idea here is if you love God properly your relationship with others will be right (cf. Rom 12:18). We don’t exclusively love God while ignoring others; they go hand in hand. There can be no separation without revealing a breakdown in the love for God. We can’t say we love God and hate others; arguably, there is a breakdown in our love for God. No wonder Paul concluded, “If I have not love, I am nothing” (1 Cor 13:2). Oh, that this would resonate within our hearts, staying clear of “nothing.” All the Law and the Prophets hung on love, not just any love, but agape (love), first and foremost for God, others second. The Jewish spiritual leadership never figured that out in Jesus’ day.

When Jesus responded to the scribe that the first and great commandment is “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind,” He wasn’t laying out various percentages of the human faculties. It was a call to love God with a wholehearted commitment. It is demonstrated in obedience to God’s Word in daily life (Jn 14:15), not a pick and choose. We are to love God with the totality of our being and life (soul and strength). The heart is the seat of our cognition, emotions, and volition. It is a complete love that involves loving God intellectually, emotionally, and willfully, hence, wholeheartedly. It is a love that demands 100% from us, nothing less than giving all of our love to Him and for Him.

Do you know what hurts team Christendom more than anything else? When players (us) quit giving their all (100%) in obedience to His Word. It is the telltale sign that we have lost the intimacy, excitement, energy, and willingness in our love for God. The world is quick to pick up on half-hearted performances, and they begin to “boo” us and Christianity from the grandstands, pointing a finger at our hypocrisy, our lack of love, and our lack of commitment. That’s what hypocrisy reveals to the world; we are no different than them.

I know what I am about to say next could be considered controversial (not to mention theologically impossible) but hear me out. If we are not going to love God with our all, we need to get off the field for nobody wins with a half-hearted effort. Loving God, loving our neighbor, being a Christian, and being a witness demands giving 100% of our love to Jesus; nothing less is acceptable or biblical. If we are a player, you and I need to be going after the ball no less than 100% of the time, giving it our all (Jn 14:15; Col 3:23). <><