I can’t tell you how excited I am about the next few days! Today the big wooly beard comes off. Wednesday, I get a haircut. I will finally look like me again! And when I go see my granddaughter 11 days from now (but who’s counting), maybe she won’t be scared of me. (Unless it was me, and not the beard, that she didn’t like). If you are confused by any of that, you’ll have to go back and read last week’s post.
By the way, I want to say a special thanks to those of you who saw the results of my “taking one for the team” and came to one of the performances of “I Stand in Awe” at FBC Bowie over the weekend. And double thanks to those of you who took the time to visit with me and tell me that you enjoy reading my weekly ramblings.
In last week’s post, I talked about “taking one for the team” and promised a follow up this week on knowing when or if you should take one for the team. As a reminder, the phrase means to “willingly undertake an unpleasant task or make a personal sacrifice for the collective benefit of one’s friends or colleagues.”
So, how do you know if you should take one for the team? How do you know if it is worth it? As is most often the case, I am going to answer that question with a couple of questions. That doesn’t make it easy, I know. But the conclusions you come to through processing the questions for yourself will be more powerful than anything someone else tells you.
So, here are the questions:
1. What kind of person do you want to be? I could ask you what kind of reputation you want to have regarding whether you are a person who keeps his or her word, but this question actually goes deeper. If we are most concerned about developing a reputation, we will focus primarily on the things that people observe as we interact with them. If we are most concerned about developing our character, we will focus on the things that are only known to us and to God. Personally, I want to be a person whose “yes” and “no” come clearly out of my own personal mission as a follower of Jesus. If I take one for the team, you will know that I am convinced, not just cordial.
2. What kind of team do you want? Like me, you probably get a lot of invitations to participate in someone else’s agenda. I can, and should, be nice to everyone. I can, and should, love everyone. I can’t, and shouldn’t, be on everyone’s team. My teams must have a common mission and vision. One of the biggest decisions you and I will make is who constitutes our team?
Your life, and your team, matters to God.
What is your team’s mission?
Leave a comment. I’d love to hear your perspective.
