I was recently watching a very popular sports talk show during which a group of panelists were discussing a recent basketball game in which a highly regarded basketball player failed to “show up” in the closing moments of the game. One of the panelists said that his disappointment with the aforementioned player stemmed from the fact that during the last play of the game, he was nowhere to be found. He pointed out that although this player had touched the ball 89 times during the game, he didn’t touch the ball when it mattered most. Instead, the panelist dryly and wryly observed, he was “standing off in the corner.” All of the other panelists nodded their heads in sad agreement.

That comment struck a chord in my soul. As soon as I heard it, my mind went immediately back to my childhood. During my childhood, there were various forms of incentives that parents and other childcare givers would employ to discipline their children. My father was a skilled practitioner of the most popular kind. He wholeheartedly believed that to “spare the rod is to spoil the child,” and he had great proficiency in the use of the rod. LOL. However, I soon discovered that if I vigorously and vociferously begged for prayer and mercy while I was being disciplined, it would greatly reduce the length and intensity of my encounters with the rod. Over time, the rod became less and less effective—at least with me.

Sensing that his efforts were not accomplishing his desired disciplinary goals, my father switched tactics. He resorted to another form of discipline that was considerably more effective: he would send me to the corner. Being sent to the corner was the worse! To a child of my energy, imagination, and independence, it was absolute torture. To be sent to the corner was to be confined to irrelevance. To be sent to the corner was to be ignored. To be sent to the corner was to be written off the map. And even worse than being sent to the corner was being sent to the corner and then commanded to turn around and face the wall. To my prepubescent mind, nothing was worse.

To be sent to the corner is one thing. Volunteering to go is something entirely different. Apparently, this is what the aforementioned player did that earned the justified wrath of the panel. Although he is the star of the team, has enormous talent, and touched the ball 89 times throughout the game, he disappeared when it mattered most. When the game was on the line, he was standing in the corner. The assumption driving their disappointment is that he could have affected the outcome of the game, but he chose not to. And there is no greater tragedy than unused talent. It is one thing to be unable. It is another thing to be unwilling, uninterested, or uninvolved.

The fifth chapter of the Book of Judges is a celebration of Israel’s victory over one of their ancient adversaries. The chapter is a recitation of how the nation’s victory was achieved, and a commendation of those who played a part. However, there is one group who does not receive a commendation. Instead, they receive a curse. Deborah, the heroine of the battle, sings

“Curse Meroz,” says God’s angel. “Curse, double curse, its people, Because they didn’t come when God needed them, didn’t rally to God’s side with valiant fighters.” (Judges 5:23)

One commentator on this text points out that Meroz was a city that “lay near the scene of action, and their inhabitants had a fair opportunity” to show their concern to Israel and demonstrate their obedience to God. But they did neither. Consequently, Meroz earned a double curse because they were either unwilling or uninterested in helping fight a crucial battle. Instead of advancing the divine agenda, they were missing in action. When God needed them the most, when the game was on the line, when things mattered most, they were somewhere standing in a corner.

So here is a list of questions for you today:

Are you somewhere standing in a corner?
Have you voluntarily shrunk from the challenges or opportunities that life has presented you?
Do you disappear when it matters most?
Can God count on you to show up when his agenda is on the line?

Myles Munroe once said that “the wealthiest place in the world is not the gold mines of South America or the oil fields of Iraq or Iran. They are not the diamond mines of South Africa or the banks of the world. The wealthiest place on the planet is just down the road. It is the cemetery. There lie buried companies that were never started, inventions that were never made, bestselling books that were never written, and masterpieces that were never painted. In the cemetery is buried the greatest treasure of untapped potential.”

Come out of your self imposed corner. Your family needs you. The world needs you. Your church needs you. God needs you.

Standing In The Corner