Get your head in the game

If someone were to tell you to 'roll up your sleeves', what would that indicate you were about to do? If they told you to 'get your head in the game' at about the same time, do you think that might just challenge you a bit to 'refocus' - pay attention, be alert, stop ignoring stuff around you? If those words came from God, would they carry any greater meaning than if I said them to you? They should! God isn't about to let us sit around being 'lazy Christians'. He wants us alert, active, and attentive to his direction.

So roll up your sleeves, get your head in the game, be totally ready to receive the gift that’s coming when Jesus arrives. Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn’t know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, “I am holy; you be holy.” (I Peter 1:13)

The alert is given - what we do with it is our choice. We can choose to ignore it, or half-heartedly respond in the affirmative. We can choose to put ourselves squarely in the middle of something we have been avoiding out of fear or distrust. We can and should choose to lay aside what we have been 'barely doing', taking up the actions Christ directs for us to take, and then trusting him with the next steps. Rolling up our sleeves means we are getting ready for hard work. This Christian walk isn't for the weak! It will require us to lay down our differences, putting others first, and working together in unity like never before. That is likely where the rub occurs - working in unity with each other. In this day and age, it is so easy to find a reason to 'not' do something. We disagree with political parties - so we resist what seems practical and reasonable. We find the beliefs of those we used to align with no longer 'fit' our beliefs, so we don't align with them any longer. We don't think the rules apply to us, so we deviate. Truth be told, Christ's rule in our lives doesn't operate at 'full capacity' when we are out of unity with each other. The Body of Christ is meant to be unified - not divided.

It is hard to be alert and attentive to the things our society might pander as 'good' or 'valuable', but is really lacking in true goodness or value in the end. Those 'old grooves of evil' have formed ruts throughout all of time and it is easy to get caught up in the ruts of evil. Perhaps that is why God tells us to get our head in the game - to really pay close attention to more than what is being said, but to also see the attitude and character behind the suggested actions or inaction. What do ruts in a road do? They pull us into paths we don't want to take. As I walk along the canal, there are ruts from work trucks that have been there. Those ruts fill with water as the rains come, making the path quite precarious. The ruts mean I take a different course - to avoid the mud, dirty water, and ankle-twisting journey! Avoid the ruts - get your head in the game. Roll up your sleeves - be ready to get to work, not alone, but in unity with those who are on this discipleship journey right beside you! Just sayin!