Strategy

On Wednesday, my son ran in his last track meet of the season. He and three others were running the 4 x 800 Relay (that's 2 laps for each person). They were evenly matched against a second team from their school, but also had several visiting teams to race against. My son was the fastest on his team (2 min, 13 sec) and was slated to run last. When he saw the other teams, he looked up the fastest times of the final runners. There was one guy whose time was 10 seconds faster than my son's 800 time. He knew that it would be impossible to improve his time by that much.

That's when he began to look for a way to win the race. Just before the race, he changed the order of the runners. (His coach said he could do what he wanted.) He became the lead runner. He told his teammates that he would give them a big lead...and it was up to them to keep it. The race started and he ran 2:13, then the other boys ran their legs of the relay. As the last runner crossed the finish line, the new strategy paid off and they won the relay! 

My son didn't run any faster than normal, but by going first he was able to transfer that momentum to his teammates. He was a good leader, who looked at the situation and made a new plan. He had a good team, who listened to his counsel.

What if my life depended on the outcome of a race? What if I tried to do everything on my own, without any input? I don't have to worry about that because I have a good leader. All I need to do is listen to and follow Christ, my righteous leader. 

Proverbs 21:21 He who follows righteousness and mercy finds life, righteousness, and honor.