A Tale of Two Teams

I was reminded of an old tale this morning and decided to adapt it for this blog.  It is a simple tale involving perspective and many lessons. I hope you enjoy it.

There was to be a soccer match between two teams. One team represented Heaven and the other team represented Hell.  Perhaps we should call them the Angels and the Demons.  Both teams prepared  for the match by practicing regularly. Both teams were at full health. These teams were evenly matched in nearly every regard, but one.

The evening before the big match the teams were both treated to lavish dinners prepared by top nutritionist and chefs. There was present on their respective tables every manner of fuel that would be needed to put forth their best performance the next day,

As might be expected the Angels took a moment to give thanks for their meal. They were appreciative of the bounty set before them. The expressed their gratitude for the work put into preparing and serving the meal to them.  They asked Blessings for the meal and for participants in the match the next day.

Meanwhile, Demons went straight for the food before them only they encountered a problem - the utensils set before them to eat their meal with were extra-sized.  The forks and spoons were so long it was impossible for anyone to feed himself.  Some complained about this while others began using their fingers to feed themselves. Soon the Demon's table was utter chaos and quite the mess.

The Angles team were given the same type of silverware with which to feed themselves yet there was no complaining at their table. Instead there was a lot of relaxed conversation and a general jovial spirit throughout the team as they served one another their meals.  The Angels used the over sized utensils to feed the teammate across from them their food.  Working together with servant hearts each of the Angels enjoyed a balanced meal, good times and several hearty laughs as they went through the process of preparing for the next days match.

Of course, this is a story about life even more so than a story about soccer.  It's a story of WE being a much better option than ME.  In life we must work diligently on our relationship with God and in so doing find our servant heart towards all of mankind. A soccer team is not so very different as each player must work diligently on his relationship with the ball, but it is not until we learn to play the game for one another that it truly becomes a beautiful game.  We must take care of ourselves / our game first in order that we might be of service to others, but make no mistake about this - it is only when we are / play in service to others that we become all we should be as a person ... and as a player. When a group of individuals share and live out this philosophy they no know limits as to what they can achieve, together.