Stop Arguing With The Ref
I recently reread the Biblical book of Numbers. The book of Numbers is so called because it records two censuses that were taken during the sojourn of the children of Israel through the wilderness en route to the Promised Land. Their sojourn is both instructive and tragic. It is instructive primarily because it shows the cost of disobedience: a journey that should have taken only eleven days wound up taking 40 years due to their failure to believe either in God or themselves. It is tragic primarily because it shows the futility of complaining.
From the moment they arrived in the wilderness, the Bible records their constant and continual stream of complaints. They complained about everything from the leadership of Moses and Aaron to the food that God provided. They complained so much that of the 603,500 people who were rescued from oppression in Egypt, only two would enter the Promised Land.
My rereading of that history hit me with such force that I decided to share a series of sermons on the topic of complaining with the church that I am privileged to Lead. During last Sunday’s message, I shared a principle that I learned from my high school Basketball coach. He would always tell us not to complain to the referee if he (there were no women referees back then) missed a call or made a bad call. When I asked him why, he said “because it was better to save your energy for the next play.”
When service was over, a man in our church who works as a professional sports referee approached me to share how much he appreciated the message. He said that whenever he misses a call or makes a call that someone disagrees with, he is constantly harangued and harassed. It occurs so frequently that he created a crisp and compelling comeback. When questioned about his officiating, he tells players since “I don’t tell you how to do your job, stop telling me how to do mine!”
I thought about his statement after the recent news that Boston Celtics superstar Jaylen Brown (in the picture above) was being fined $50,000 by the National Basketball Association for arguing with the refs. His team was eliminated from the post-season by the New York Knicks, and Brown said that he felt as though the officials had “an agenda,” which led to him being on the receiving end of some questionable calls. The cost of his complaining is far greater than $50,000. Brown is one of the highest paid players in the NBA. This past season, his salary was $57 million. So from a financial perspective, $50,000 is pennies. But many observers believe that his obsession with unfairness may have distorted his focus and cost his team the opportunity to advance. For an individual of his talent and intelligence, that is too high a price to pay.
Ladies and Gentlemen, God is the referee of the universe. And he will often make what we think are some bad calls, or may even miss some calls that we think should have gone our way. But whenever we feel like complaining about what God is doing or not doing in our lives, we should heed the counsel of that other referee who attends Resurrection. We should stop telling God how to do his job. Let God be God! Whatever happens in our lives, God either planned it or is allowing it to bring about an outcome that will ultimately bless us and promote his agenda.
God does have an agenda for our lives. But it is not nefarious. And whenever we complain, all we do is amass unnecessary fines that cost us our peace. So here is today’s question: how many times have you pointed your finger in God’s face and accused divine omnipotence of making a bad call or missing the right call? The only honest answer is “too many times.”
Like most of us, I am guilty as charged. So I ask you to join me this month as I go on a complaining fast! In addition, we can take at least three practical steps to help us stop complaining about what God is up to in our lives:
Repent.
Memorize Philippians 2:14, which says
Do all things without grumbling and faultfinding and complaining [against God]
3.When you don’t get the call that you were expecting, stay in the game and conserve your energy.
You are going to need your energy for the next play!