Steve Nash is recognized as the key cog that makes his NBA team, the Phoenix Suns, run smoothly. As a point guard, Nash regularly leads his team and the league in assists. That part of the game is often overlooked, yet Nash has elevated it to the point where he has twice been named the NBA's Most Valuable Player.
An assist is simply passing the ball to the player who scores. The scorer still has to execute to score, but the assist person has put him in the best possible position to do his job. What makes Nash so special is the way he creates opportunities for his teammates to score.
Nash takes as much joy in passing the ball as in scoring himself. Plus, he knows the team functions better, and in fact can win more games, if he removes the focus from himself and puts it on others.
What Blackaby points out in today's devotional is that Christians are to sacrifice personal comfort and goals in order to serve the needs of others...a kind of spiritual assist. In the case of the Apostle Paul, it meant not engaging in activities that he knew were OK under Christian standards, but might be misinterpreted by other, less mature Christians.
Building up others at your own expense is not the natural, or man-made method for advancing a cause. But Christians are supposed to follow the model of Christ, not the examples of men.
Perhaps there is an opportunity for you today to allow someone else to shine. Your Father, who sees all things will know it...kind of a spiritual assist.
Charles Fortney
elder
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