I loved to watch “The American Sportsman” when I was a kid.  Curt Gowdy and Grits Gresham would go to exotic (to me) places to hunt and fish.  I always dreamed of going to some of those places and doing some of those things, but in the back of my mind I figured they were probably out of my reach.

We also went once or twice to the circus.  I saw that you could keep a lion or tiger at bay with a whip and chair and wondered why the lion hadn’t figured out that he could charge past the whip and through the chair and have a piece (literally) of his tormentor.  I also saw trapeze artists and figured that what they were doing must have been fun because they were always smiling.  It looked scary to me, though.  When I asked, my parents told me how dangerous it was and how they practiced all the time and how much work it was.  I decided I’d stick to my backyard swing.

I’m older now and have a little bit better grasp of vicarious satisfaction and the entertainment industry.  I still like to watch some of that stuff, and I sometimes still root for the lion.  I’m no longer interested in swinging from a wire.

Over the years some of us Christians have come to think of our relationship with the Lord like I viewed the circus and Grits.  We think that all that spiritual stuff is interesting to watch but it is beyond our ability, so we get our satisfaction from watching others.  We have even gone so far as to hire folks to sing, visit, teach, and do other feats of dangerous spirituality that we have convinced ourselves are beyond our capacity.  To add to this misconception, we even think we are doing something commendable by paying others to do what the Lord requires of us.

There is a biblical place for pastors, evangelists, and the rest of that list in Ephesians 4.  We are not all supposed to do what they do. However, read it carefully; they are supposed to be helping us do what we are called to do, not doing it for us.

Christianity is not entertainment or a spectator sport.  Grab you chair and whip and get to it.  This time I’ll root for you!