From God’s Perspective, Ordinary is Good Enough

Fans of collegiate athletics are familiar with the term “blue chip.” It describes athletes who, according to various recruiting service, are the best of the best in sports like football, basketball, baseball, softball, hockey and soccer. Any coach worth his or her salt knows one factor in succeeding on the field, court or rink is having enough blue-chip players on the team.

 

That kind of mindset carries over to other areas of life. In the corporate world, businesses delight in hiring prospects who possess MBAs, and law firms tend to favor graduates of prestigious universities and law schools. Performers on Broadway often have received their training at name-brand acting and music schools. Everyone seems to want folks with “blue-chip” credentials, the “crème de la crème” in their respective disciplines.

 

Many times, we even see this practice in the Church as well. Men and women holding prominence in the community are selected to serve as church leaders; hefty donors are asked to serve on boards of elders and deacons. The reasoning goes, “If they’re successful in the ‘secular’ world, surely they’ll be successful in handling major church responsibilities.”

 

God does not focus on
the outward appearance,
but on the heart.

What I find particularly interesting about this is that when God “recruits” people to His “team,” He utilizes entirely different criteria. As the refrain from an old song observed, “Just ordinary people…God uses ordinary people.” That is, ordinary people whose hearts are inclined toward Him.

Proof can be found throughout the Bible. Take Noah for example. In the account about God telling him to build an ark prior the Flood, we don’t read anything about his accomplishments. But we do learn about Noah’s character”: “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and walked with God…. Noah did everything just as God commanded him” (Genesis 6:9,22). 

 

The lineage of the people of Israel – and all Jews today – traces back to a man named Abram, later renamed Abraham. Apparently, he and his family were successful in business, since Genesis 12:5 mentions “all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired.” However, most significant is that we’re told, “Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6).

 

As we continue through Genesis, we find Jacob, a schemer and conniver who later received the name Israel, becoming the namesake for the Israelites. There’s Joseph, a young man who seemingly alienated his brothers with the attitude, “Dad (Jacob) loves me best.” Nevertheless, he became God’s instrument to preserve the people of Israel in Egypt during a time of extreme famine.

 

Moses, despite killing an Egyptian, was called by God to deliver the Israelites from 400 years of bondage. This is even though, when he first encountered the Lord at a burning bush and received his assignment, Moses resisted several times, arguing, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11).

 

Rahab, who protected the Israelite spies as they scoped out the city of Jericho, was a prostitute. Hardly a member of high society in her community, yet she is among those cited for special recognition in the Hebrews 11 “hall of faith.”

 

Long before David became king of Israel, he was a lowly shepherd boy, regarded as so insignificant that when God sent Samuel to choose a successor to King Saul from the sons of Jesse, David wasn’t even invited to the lineup of brothers. There are the Old Testament prophets, for the most part an unlikely bunch – not included in the “Who’s Who” of Jewish society, but rather firmly entrenched in “Who’s he?” 

 

But when it came to ordinary people, the most striking examples were the ragtag group Jesus Christ called to be His closest followers: fishermen like Simon Peter, his brother Andrew, James and John, a despised tax collector named Matthew, the-ever skeptical Thomas, Judas Iscariot who would become Jesus’ betrayer, and several others who lacked notable credentials from Jewish society. 

 

The apostle Paul, prior to his conversion, was an esteemed Pharisee, but became widely despised once his zeal was redirected to preaching the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

Most likely, none of these was ever voted “most likely to succeed” by their peers. In the eyes of most of their contemporaries – but not God – they were just ordinary people. But to Him, that made them ideally suited to become “instruments of righteousness,” as described in Romans 6:13. 

 

If you’re wondering, “So what?” the answer’s a simple one. If God could use people like those singled out above, He can use you – and me. We each have unique talents, gifts and interests, but when it comes to selecting people to do His work, the Lord isn’t so much concerned about our capabilities as He is our character.

 

This is one reason “ordinary” David, and not his outwardly more impressive brothers, was anointed to become Israel’s second king. As God told the prophet Samuel, “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

 

Jesus referred to this truth when He told His disciples, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing…. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will remain” (John 15:5,16).

So, if you ever think you’d love to serve the Lord and be used by Him, but don’t think you have the right qualifications, good news: That means in God’s sight, you’re qualified. You’re His kind of blue-chipper! 

Letting Their Light Shine

Even though I love sports, I rarely address sporting topics in this blog. But recent comments on ESPN Radio’s “Mike & Mike” program were too intriguing to ignore.

Mike Greenberg, one of the talk show’s two Mikes, was discussing Mariano Rivera, the New York Yankees’ stellar relief pitcher who’s retiring after this season. Most baseball experts consider Rivera the greatest reliever in the sport’s history. He has nearly 700 career saves including the post-season, more than any of his peers, past or present.

But perhaps even more than for his pitching prowess, Greenberg observed, Rivera’s universally admired for “his class,” the dignity with which he “has carried himself” on and off the field.

In fact, Greenberg observed Rivera’s unquestioned respect might be unmatched in any sport. Then the radio commentator searched for comparisons, citing other players who have earned similar acclaim, not only for on-the-field excellence but also exceptional character qualities.

The light of Jesus shining through us
can build a bridge leading to Him.

In particular, he pointed to three from the NFL, all no longer playing: Anthony Munoz, a legendary offensive lineman for the Cincinnati Bengals; Mike Singletary, the fierce middle linebacker for the Chicago Bears; and the late Reggie White, an incomparable defensive lineman with the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers.

What Greenberg did not mention, however, either because he didn’t know or didn’t consider it relevant, is all four men – during their careers and afterward – were men of great faith, unapologetic followers of Jesus Christ.

Rivera, for example, has served as pastor of churches in metropolitan New York and his native Panama, and reportedly plans to devote his retirement to Christian and philanthropic work. I interviewed Munoz for a magazine article in 1990 while he was still playing with the Bengals, and he asserted Jesus Christ was the focal point of his life.

Singletary, who went on to coach in the NFL, wrote several books about how his career and faith intertwined. And White became so well known for his outspoken faith in Christ, as well as his defensive skills, he was accorded the nickname, “the Minister of Defense.”

This isn’t to say, of course, that people of high character all follow Christ. Nonbelievers can certainly exhibit good character, while unfortunately not all believers have character traits worth emulating. But what a statement it is that each of the four men recognized, for both their athletic excellence and highly esteemed inner qualities, are among Jesus’ ardent followers.

In Matthew 5:16 He said, “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Throughout their careers, these men let the light of Christ shine through their actions.

And 1 Peter 3:15 adds, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” Because of their on-field successes, along with their extraordinary character, each of these men had countless occasions to give their own answers to people that asked about what made them different.

But you don’t need to be a star athlete, or a famous person at all, to earn this privilege. In our chaotic world, when it seems every day there are too few answers and too many questions, a life set apart by the presence of Jesus Christ is bound to be noticed.

As James 3:13 states, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him shine it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.”

A business person that performs work with excellence and an unwavering commitment to integrity; a teacher devoted to her students, helping them to gain a love for learning and encouraging them to discover and pursue their passions; a retail clerk eager to assist customers find exactly what they need: Each, through their actions, can reflect the character of Christ and demonstrate what it means to “regard others as more important than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4).

If sometimes you wonder, “What would Jesus do?”, then read those words again. That’s exactly what He did.