July 4. 2016 - Free Agents Have Choices

Last week I wrote about being a “free agent”… with being free it means there are choices to be made. Today Kevin Durant announced that he is going to change teams and sign to play with the Golden State Warriors; because he is a free agent he has that opportunity and that right. (It is funny how many people criticize pro ball players for making choices… no one else gets criticized for going to what they perceive to be a better job.)

The argument against Durant is that he made a choice to join the team that beat him instead of manning up to beat them… He has been called “weak” and said to have “jumped on the band wagon” of the Warriors. The claim is that he automatically now will win championships instead of earning them the hard way. The problem with this line of thinking is that it makes some assumptions and it fails to understand culture.

First is the assumption that this guarantees multiple championships. Yes the Warriors look scary on paper; but they will have to learn to play together and the dynamic of the team is changing due to the players the Warriors had to let go. One of their strengths had been the ability to play multiple styles… going small or going big. They now have lessened some of that flexibility. Yes they will be scary good, but definitely no guarantees.

Second is failing to understand that these guys grew up in an AAU culture that is built upon putting together the strongest team possible to obliterate the competition. Their entire lives have been about being part of the strongest team… that is both on the AAU circuit and by going to private schools (i.e. Oak Hill Academy.)

Bottom line is that Durant had the freedom to choose and did what was logical in his way of thinking!

Today as we celebrate freedom, I want to say thank you to the many that have given me the right to even write these devotions and post them. I know there is a lot of turmoil surrounding our political and social climates but bottom line is that I still the freedom to share about my Savior and His Word openly! Thankful to be an American! (Happy Birthday, USA!)

And of course I am thankful to Christ for purchasing my eternal freedom. I have heard some say that “Christ is a crutch for the weak.” I will have to disagree… I (and you) are not just weak, we are powerless (Rom 5:6) and we need more than a crutch… we need a stretcher. I will admit I made the logical choice of joining a guaranteed winner in Christ! I realized that any other team I joined was destined to lose in the end and I jumped on Christ’s “bandwagon.”

Durant and the other Warriors still have to perform well, avoid injuries, etc. in order to win; on the spiritual front Christ has already defeated death and we already know how things end…

1 Corinthians 15:55-57 “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Galatians 5:13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

Freedom means choices…

Make sure you join the winning team!

Make sure you use the opportunity on the new team to Go MAD (Make A Difference) in the lives of others.

Today we L.I.V.E.! (Love Intentionally Value Everyone)