Parks and Recreation
Anyone who has walked across ice before knows how challenging it is to look confident and important.
Reference: Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant fighter from Kabzeel, performed great exploits. He struck down Moab’s two mightiest warriors. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. (1 Chronicles 11:22 NIV)
Explore: One of my favourite comedies at the moment is Parks and Recreation. It is an Office style comedy about a group of government workers within the Parks and Recreation department.
The 2IC (Leslie Knope) is a passionate, committed, loyal worker who gives her all to the city she works for. The rest of the department show little care and no concern about its development!
One of the funniest episodes I’ve seen is when Leslie and her team address a crowd they are trying to impress. Unfortunately, the stadium they hired for their event has been turned from a basketball court into an ice hockey rink. To get to the podium in the middle Leslie and her team have to cross the ice.
Whilst still trying to look poised and in control, the whole team slip and slide across the ice with at least one or two falling over completely. Anyone who has walked across ice before knows how challenging it is, and it brought tears to my eyes seeing Leslie and her team trying to do it whilst still looking confident and important.
Application: 1 Chronicles tells us of some real warriors who were confident and in control. They were strong and fierce and did anything for their leader, David.
One of them, Benaniah, was so brave that he went down into an icy cave and fought a lion. Watching Leslie and her team walk across the ice hockey rink reminded me of the challenges that Benaniah faced. Not only was the lion a great threat, but even the environment caused issues.
The great thing about Benaniah was that he was committed to the cause. The situation looked grave, and he may have felt like he was on slippery ground, but he followed through with his commitment to serve David.
So often, when things get slippery and out of our control, we tend to give up easily. Maybe it’s because we don’t want to look silly or we feel threatened. But if we remember how important the task before us is, then we go with loyalty towards our leader.
Sure, we still might fall over every now and again, but if the leader we are following is God, then we can have the confidence that He will help to pick us up again and fight the battle before us.
Prayer: Lord, sometimes the path before us looks slippery. We want to be confident, but we become unsure. Help us to walk slowly, but with purpose, towards You and the goal You set before us. Amen.
What slippery path do you have before you?
This article was written by Linda Bailey
Linda started theological studies in 1999 in Australia. After working for ten years in various church ministries, she now works as the breakfast producer at 89.9 LightFM - the Christian radio station in Melbourne, Australia. She writes blogs every day about passages she is currently reading in the Bible. Follow her on Google Plus +Linda Bailey or Facebook by clicking the like button on the right of this page.