A scenario played out in Minnesota high school hockey where a goalie corralled the puck behind his net, casually skated it to the crease, and put it in his own net. On purpose. Apparently he wasn’t pleased about losing the starting job to a sophomore and this was his long planned way of expressing his displeasure, on Seniors Night. Afterwards, he slowly skated off the ice and gave a disrespectful gesture to his bench. That goal tied the game late in the third and his team ended up losing that night, by a goal.
I should rephrase that, because as soon as he did that, it wasn’t his team anymore. One could even argue that as soon as he started planning it, he did not deserve to be called a member of that team. He broke faith with his teammates, with his coaches, with the fans and community that supported him for years. Instead of working to benefit his side, he plotted against them. It probably goes without saying that he wasn’t with the team after that.
It’s easy to look at that situation and criticize, but the bad news is we all are no better. We do the same thing to God. From Adam and Eve right up to us, we have our own goals (see what I did there) that don’t always line up with God’s will. And when we pursue our own selfish desires, our own goals, we give the devil, the opposition, what he wants and disrespect God. Rather than submitting our will, we stubbornly and defiantly choose our own way.We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)
The funny thing about that goalie was that by every outward appearance, he looked like a member of the team. He had the pads, the jersey, maybe even a cool helmet painted with an artistic logo. He could skate, had a quick glove, everything that you need to be a goalie. But his heart had turned against his team and he was no longer deserving of them. Like the Pharisees who praised God with their lips, but whose hearts were far from Him, or Judas who served seemingly so faithfully for years but in the end betrayed Jesus. In the same way, we might look like good people from the outside. We might kiss our grandma, shovel our neighbor’s driveway when it snows, and not swear (very much). But all that could be just goalie pads concealing a traitor, just outward appearances hiding a hardened heart. So we see it's not about the works we see (Ephesians 2:8-9), but where our heart is before the Lord (Hebrews 11:6). The real question for us then is will we submit our will to God and give Him our love, devotion, and trust? In the end, that’s all that matters.
Have you ever had a teammate who cared more about himself than the team? If so, what did you think about that teammate? If you were a coach, would you want to keep them on your team? Why?
What is required for salvation?
Read Matthew 7:22-23. Many believe they will go to heaven because they are a good person or simply because they go to church. Accord ing to this passage, what will Jesus say to them?
What are your ‘own goals’, desires you pursue that aren’t in line with God’s will?
What should we do when we find our hearts are far from God?