Stars and Victories

 

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.  (I Peter 1:6-7)

Back in 2012, in one of President Obama’s campaign speeches, he said, "If you've got a business, you didn't build that.” He was right in his observation. If you own a business, chances are good that other people have been involved in integral ways. The same is true of celebrities we like. Most of them would not be as impressive without the set people, the makeup artists, costumers, choreographers, and entrepreneurs who provide a venue for them. Think of sports figures. They have coaches, sponsors, and a host of others who make their performance possible. Can you imagine your football star going back for a pass, throwing the ball, racing ahead, blocking the whole other team, catching the ball and running it in for a touchdown? Can you imagine a world in which you have to invent, manufacture, hunt, harvest, grow, and make everything you need to survive?

The reality is that there are lots of invisible people who make life possible. The COVID-19 pandemic gave a small portion of those invisible people 15 minutes of fame. But ultimately, those people disappeared back into the shadows of the heroes, stars, and leaders. The football player who has blocked his opponents from getting to the quarterback more times than he can count isn’t celebrated by the crowds as much as the quarterback and receivers. Oh, there are some people who will notice and include the blocker, or the coach(es), but does anyone credit the water boy? The team doctor?

I hope what I’ve said has an obvious connection to today’s passage. All those invisible people are needed. They all have a role to play, and when they are content to take the hits for the sake of the team, they are part of the victory. In the same way, we may have to go through a life that feels as if we’re nothing more than a punching bag. We may never receive the credit we think we’re due, but what’s more important: our name in lights, or the victory of the team?

Today’s passage tells us that we may get flattened by the defensive linemen. We may seem to fail miserably over and over. But if the goal is the greater glory, not our personal (selfish) victory, we can understand how vital we are even if we aren’t the star.