Once upon a time, a wise person I knew had a fantasy football team with 3 great quarterbacks. These players were the creme of the crop, Aaron Rogers, Lamar Jackson & Kyler Murry. He valued these players as they would routinely score more than 40+ points a game, but alas he could only play one at a time. He knew he had 3 very valuable desirable players that would lift any team.
He looked at the other teams in the league with QB names like Taylor Heinicke, Davis Mills Danny Dudds, and Zach Wilson. Surely these deficient QB teams would want, no, need one of these 3 QBs. But as sad as some QB’s played he could never get a trade offer that reflected a top-tier QB value.
No one else saw the level of value of the QB’s like he did. He saw how much potential and ability these QB’s had. The other fantasy teams acknowledged the QBs were better than what they had but they didn’t need one bad enough. There was a difference in valuation, the owner saw the high value the other teams saw not enough value.
This reminds me of the story of the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:17-22.
17 As he went out into the street, a man came running up, greeted him with great reverence, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to get eternal life?”
18-19 Jesus said, “Why are you calling me good? No one is good, only God. You know the commandments: Don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t cheat, honor your father and mother.”
20 He said, “Teacher, I have—from my youth—kept them all!”
21 Jesus looked him hard in the eye—and loved him! He said, “There’s one thing left: Go sell whatever you own and give it to the poor. All your wealth will then be heavenly wealth. And come follow me.”
22 The man’s face clouded over. This was the last thing he expected to hear, and he walked off with a heavy heart. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and not about to let go.
This guy at first glance had his life together, was rich, knew the word, and he wanted more. He tracks Jesus down and directly asks him, “what’s it going take to close this deal?” He saw value in what Jesus represented.
Jesus responds, “There’s one thing left: Go sell whatever you own and give it to the poor. All your wealth will then be heavenly wealth. And come follow me.”
The young ruler quickly did the math and decided the price was too steep for him. This was a trade that was too steep. He wanted it but not as much as he wanted his wealth.
Think about what we value now? What do you value above God? What do you value above your family?
Do you put work above everything? Do you value status? Money? What do your friends think? What the world thinks?
Do you value getting ready for game day 3 hours before the game and skipping Sunday school and church, then watching another 3 hours of football? All the while your kids may need your attention.
Maybe you are so close to getting that next big client, or job, or buying the next best toy, and you keep telling yourself that all that time you focus on it will pay off in the end.
Jesus valued the rich young ruler more than you may value your top player. Jesus stopped, made time in his busy day to hear, see and understand him. To love on him, speak truth to him, go to the cross for him and die for him. But the rich young ruler didn’t value all that enough.
Would you willingly go to be humiliated, beaten, and crucified for your favorite player?
Jesus did it for you. He saw so much value in you that he died for you and your sins. We must see the world more as Jesus did. Value the eternal not the temporal. Stop listening to the lies the world is screaming at you. Like Skip Bayless & Steven A Smith yelling their next hot take, it’s just noise, no substance.
Invest in your spiritual development, your family’s spiritual development. This will be hard to do because everything worthwhile is hard to do. But don’t walk away from Jesus with a heavy heart, embrace Him, value him and try to be like him. Accept his trade proposal, give up what you value, and accept his gift.
Maybe your fantasy team can make it with a second tier quarterback, but in reality, Jesus’ trade proposition is one you can’t afford to pass up!
Steve Urbina is a deacon at FBCW and manages the Mighty D-Duck-tibles Fantasy Football Team in the Baptist Ballers Fantasy Football League. His three quarterback strategy missed the fantasy playoffs by 4 games, but thankfully, following Jesus is a strategy that will end in the ultimate victory!