During a recent Sunday School lesson a gentleman said, "The Lord does not want benchwarmers."
My first thought? Sports! Basketball in particular (probably because I'm currently consumed in March Madness and Jimmer Mania)
Take a look at this list....
Scottie Pippen.
Dennis Rodman.
Steve Kerr.
Toni Kukoc.
Ron Harper.
Do the names ring a bell?
Yeah, these guys carried the Chicago Bulls to a 1998 NBA Championship.
David Vaughn.
Does that name ring a bell?
No?
Well, he was on that same '98 Championship team.
The reason you don't know him is because he never really made it onto the court.
He was the starting benchwarmer!
Guess what - he got a Championship ring too!
So let's think about this, he got paid a nice salary, got courtside seats to watch his Royal Airness dominate, and then was awarded with a Championship Ring.
NICE!
It seems like a pretty sweet deal. BUT - I bet David Vaughn wanted to play. It must have been so hard to watch everyone else get the minutes on the floor.
Imagine if the Church was this way.
Our Michael Jordan? Thomas S. Monson.
The other starters? The Quorum of the Twelve.
Us? Well, we just ride the bench and hope that our starters get us a Championship, right?
Wrong.
There are NO benchwarmers on the Lord's team.
The Lord does not need us to show up for 3 hours, warm up the benches and then go home and back to our lives while we let the "starters" do the work.
I am a starter.
You are a starter.
You are Michael Jordan.
You are expected to act like him.
You need to help your team.
I need to help my team.
We act like starters when we do our hometeaching, visit the sick, support the missionaries, attend the temple and make the Gospel an everyday part of our life.
There is NO superstar who we can just ride to a Championship. You can't ride the bench to the Celestial Kingdom.
The Lord needs starters, not benchwarmers.
Are you Michael Jordan or David Vaughn?
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Kyle Aldous connects his life to the scriptures daily and blogs about it in "Liken365". He is a PR Director and LOVES to breakdance! He was recently married and is loving life!
Photo Credit: Barnaby Wasson
