“Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.” It’s hard to hear those words without adding a hearty ‘amen!’ Even if you don’t #JustDoIt, the idea and the sentiment behind the hashtag rings true. As with so much these days, it’s the message behind the words that reveal whether you are being led to the truth or fake news.
I encourage you to watch the Nike commercial featuring Colin Kaepernick and discern the message for yourself ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hIc_epqfI0 ). As with most things of this world, there is a degree of truth but where it can lead you is not always clear. The message Nike is supporting is to believe in yourself because you are capable of greatness. Colin says faith in yourself, conviction and sacrifice is the path to follow. Kaepernick even labels those who doubt as ‘non-believers’. Almost sounds like the words you hear in a church service.
This message starts to take on a new meaning after a little due diligence and seeing what history has to say. What rings in your loins when you hear this commercial is what rang in the ears of Lucifer before time began; YOU CAN BE THE GREATEST, just do it! Kaepernick flat out says it, be the greatest, not just great.
We live in a world that battles for your eternal soul. The battle is fought in your mind with the message of achieving greatness and exalting yourself. The world tells you through sacrifice and suffering you can and should become great. Believing in yourself is fine, but believing in God first and foremost is critical. When you focus on being great, you can become your own god…especially when you achieve high levels of success. Don’t forget #havenoothergodsbeforeme.
The man named Jesus Christ knew greatness, but not the way Nike is describing it. No, he wasn’t the wealthiest guy to ever live and he doesn’t hold world records for points scored in a career, a game or championship rings won. But, He did heal the sick, raise the dead, make a way to eternal life and rise from the dead himself. Oh, yeah, and He did it in weakness according to the world’s standards.
Jesus’ biggest victories didn’t come after years of training to be the best, but they came when He was the weakest and relied on God not himself. In the wilderness all alone, Jesus defeated the strongest angel ever created after he went without food for more than a month. “After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.” Matthew 4:2. The message of history is: God is great and there is no second place. The message of Christianity is to believe in God and His Son, not just something. The message of Jesus is that only when you sacrifice of yourself for where God leads you, can you be propelled to greatness, holiness and eternal life.
At the height of Mike Tyson’s reign as a boxer, Evander Holyfield defeated the champ with the same message of belief and conviction as the Nike commercial, but not belief in himself first. Evander pointed to his faith and belief in Jesus. The boxing gloves Holyfield wore were inscribed, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13.
These days it is easy to discern the lies referred to as fake news. It is more difficult to hear a degree of truth and know whether to give your heart to following it’s lead. The whole truth comes in God’s Word. Jesus knew a great man when he saw one. “Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater then John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” Matthew 11:11. What was John the Baptists’ advice on greatness? “He must become greater, I must become less.” John 3:30. Not a grain of truth, but the whole truth. Pursue greatness by following the truth that when you become less and Jesus becomes more in your life, THAT is the sacrifice to deliver greatness.
Don’t just believe in something and sacrifice your life for it. Believe in the One who sacrificed his life for you. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16. #believethis