KING OF KINGS

The summer of 2010 will forever stand alone in the world of sports as the time the world stood still to anticipate the free agency future of maybe the NBA's greatest player, LeBron James. Never before in all of history had a single person sold the rights to a TV interview for 2.5 million dollars and captivated the attention of such a large audience (just shy of 10 million to be exact). This freak athlete calls himself "The King" and the ESPN TV special covering his highly anticipated next contract move was entitled "The Decision". As if that were not enough, Nike's latest marketing campaign with LeBron as its centerpiece calls all people to "bear witness" to his greatness.

I have to admit that I too have been a bit sucked in by all the recent hype around LeBron and his decision, but a picture I came across the other day snapped me back to reality and really got me thinking. Seeing the huge, outstretched arms of "The King" in the picture, I couldn't help but think of another great King who also stretched out his arms, and how different the two are. One extends his arms to showcase greatness and garner the applause and cheers of thousands while the other extends his to be pieced, mocked and beaten, not for his own gain, but for you and me. One king is the epitome of pride, swagger and self confidence while the other demonstrates humility, service and love, all in their purest form. One king wants us to bear witness to his greatness while the other asks us to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. My conclusion in all this comparison was that, at the end of it all, as the book or Revelation says, Jesus really is and will be the "King of Kings" (Rev 19:16). Nothing else can compare. No sports figure, no matter how great, no sporting event, no car or material possession, no bit of knowledge, and no talent or skill can even come close to his unparalleled greatness and love.

When Jesus said in Mark 12:30 that we are to "love the Lord God with all our heart," we need to do just that. The reality though is that most of us give Jesus only a portion of our heart and it's attention so that the rest can be spent idolizing sports figures, stuff and the like. The truth is he deserves it all. You might think he has all of your heart, but what about your attention? How much time each day do you "waste" on eternally insignificant things? If you devoted only a fraction of that to the one true king and his kingdom think of the difference it would make. God's love for us in giving us life each day and offering forgiveness for all our wickedness is far superior and exceedingly greater than anything else in this world. Yet most of us degrade and disregard both his gift and his greatness. We hold out on giving him our entire life so that we can continue to prostitute our hearts, attention, and affection to other things and other "kings".

One disclaimer before I end. There is absolutely nothing wrong with rooting for your team and from what I know, LeBron James is a fantastic player and a nice guy. This is in no way an attack on him as a person, only a reminder and a heart check to make sure that all the wonderful things God created for our enjoyment haven't taken priority in our live above The Creator.

Who or what is the King of your heart today?

Will you live your life accordingly?