Playmakers and Game-changers

If you have watched a lot of football and basketball like I have, then you will understand what I am about to write. If you have not, maybe you will understand after my eloquently worded entry enlightens your soul. Probably not, but it is probably still worth reading.

In a competition or game, there are a few different groups of people. First, there are spectators who are not even involved in the competition at all. They are passive agents in the outcome of the competition. I like to call this group ‘the crowd’. This is where most people fall.

There are many athletes that don a uniform and participate in the activities of sports and games. There are many that are part of the team but do not get significant playing time; playing time being time to be a part of the main story, to get to make a difference, to fight with your teammates for the one common purpose, etc. These players do serve a purpose, but end up spending much of their time out of the spotlight and on the sideline. I was one of these players in high school. I like to call these people ‘the others’. This group consists of a smaller number than the number in ‘the crowd’.

There are others that get significant time to play and fight. They are usually role players of some sort, meaning that they aren’t the most talented or skilled but do serve a very specific purpose or role. Not as many people fall into this category as ‘the others’, since it takes much more skill and effort to be in this. These players are vital to the success of any team. I like to call these players ‘the team players’. They do impact the game, yet not like the next group of players.

The rest of the players I like to call ‘playmakers’. This group is the most elite and the smallest by far. Although sometimes the talent disparity is vast, these players typically are equally as talented and skilled as the rest of the team, yet seem to be gamers, meaning that they can get it done when the heat is on in the midst of the competition. These players typically are the hardest workers on the team and are willing to give whatever it takes to get it done. They are game-changers. They don’t allow everything to just happen, but instead exert their will on the game. They are aggressive not passive. They make things happen. They change the game by their presence, talent and skill. The game is elevated and made different when they are in. There is a noticeable difference when they are either not in the game or are not engaged in the game.

If you’ve ever watched a true ‘playmaker’ or ‘game-changer’ then you understand how beautiful it is to watch them exert their will on the game. It just seems right that they dominate and make things happen. It is exhilarating and a rush to see them excel. It is what they were created to do in that moment. However, it is as equally disappointing to see them not be a playmaker as it is thrilling and right to see them make a difference in their sphere of competition and influence.

I was called out yesterday, because I have not been engaged in the game. I got called out for not being a playmaker and game-changer. Sure, I have been in the game. I have made some plays. I have helped the team out some. I have a decent stat line. I have the measurables. But I have not been being a game-changer. I have been content just being a part of the action, but not controlling the action. Partly this is because I have assumed that I am just one of ‘the others’ or at best one of ‘the team players’. But I have been told recently that I am one of the ‘playmakers’, but have rejected that calling. I’m not saying this to boast in my skill, talent or effort. I’m saying this to boast in the cross of Jesus Christ. I have been redeemed and have been ransomed to be a ‘playmaker’ – a disciple who is making disciples of Jesus Christ.

Obviously I am not talking about an actual competition or game, but instead life. I have been sitting on the sidelines mostly and when I am in the game I have been content with just being out there. I was called out to be a playmaker. To be a game-changer. To be going all out for the advancement of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I have been given so much that it’s a waste not to maximize my impact on the game. It’s not fitting for me (or you for that matter) to be content with just being at the game, or being on the sidelines, or being a team player. We need more playmakers. We need more game-changers. We need men to step up and make a difference.

I do not want to be half-hearted. I want to be spent for the Kingdom of God. I want to be used up for the advancement of the Glory of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ and the joy of all peoples in the sufficiency of Christ. I want to walk off the court having nothing left, because I left it all out there.

C.S. Lewis once wrote the following:

“Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

I don’t want to be too easily pleased. I want to get in the game and make a difference for the Kingdom. I don’t want to be a half-hearted creature anymore. It’s time to be a playmaker and a game-changer.