I just returned home from a week in Ashland, Oregon. If you are unfamiliar with Ashland, it is known for its Shakespearean Festival, which hosts more than just Shakespearean plays in its three theaters.
We (my mother, sister, niece and I) had tickets to see Much Ado About Nothing on Friday. On Wednesday, a notice went out that the play was canceled for that day due to an illness which had swept through the company. Thursday the same notice came out again. But on Friday, nothing. A call to the box office confirmed that the play would be going on that night.
That evening, when everyone was seated, the creative director came out and started listing all the understudies who would be taking the stage that night. She suggested we hold our applause till the end of the list—it was extensive.
The result? The play was fantastic and in the eyes of the audience—flawless.
Too often we hold understudies in a lower regard than the principal players. We might consider them “less than” or “not as good as” the actor who was chosen for the part. And while that is true to some degree (the powers that be preferred A over B at this particular time) these actors were considered good enough to take over the role when needed.
Understudies show up in all walks of life and appear in the Bible as well.
Back-up quarterbacks, relief pitchers, bench sitters may not be considered the best to start the game but they are certainly viewed as important enough to step in if needed.
Biblically, Joshua was Moses’s understudy; Elisha, Elijah’s; the disciples, Jesus’s.
The second chapter of James is all about the sin of favoritism, primarily because we are using a skewed measuring stick—outward appearance rather than state of the heart. Rahab the prostitute will trump the uncompassionate Pharisee every time. The wealthy who threw in money from their excess fell far short in honor to the poor widow who offered her final two mites (Mark 12:41-44).
Let’s be careful not to esteem those in a backup role (including ourselves) less than those who currently have the spotlight. God has placed everyone in their current position and in His timing, and His timing alone, will move them up if necessary.
We (my mother, sister, niece and I) had tickets to see Much Ado About Nothing on Friday. On Wednesday, a notice went out that the play was canceled for that day due to an illness which had swept through the company. Thursday the same notice came out again. But on Friday, nothing. A call to the box office confirmed that the play would be going on that night.
That evening, when everyone was seated, the creative director came out and started listing all the understudies who would be taking the stage that night. She suggested we hold our applause till the end of the list—it was extensive.
The result? The play was fantastic and in the eyes of the audience—flawless.
Too often we hold understudies in a lower regard than the principal players. We might consider them “less than” or “not as good as” the actor who was chosen for the part. And while that is true to some degree (the powers that be preferred A over B at this particular time) these actors were considered good enough to take over the role when needed.
Understudies show up in all walks of life and appear in the Bible as well.
Back-up quarterbacks, relief pitchers, bench sitters may not be considered the best to start the game but they are certainly viewed as important enough to step in if needed.
Biblically, Joshua was Moses’s understudy; Elisha, Elijah’s; the disciples, Jesus’s.
The second chapter of James is all about the sin of favoritism, primarily because we are using a skewed measuring stick—outward appearance rather than state of the heart. Rahab the prostitute will trump the uncompassionate Pharisee every time. The wealthy who threw in money from their excess fell far short in honor to the poor widow who offered her final two mites (Mark 12:41-44).
Let’s be careful not to esteem those in a backup role (including ourselves) less than those who currently have the spotlight. God has placed everyone in their current position and in His timing, and His timing alone, will move them up if necessary.
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