I woke up this morning to find out the Nets had a surprising win over the Bucks in last night's NBA playoff game. Even though the Bucks were up by 17 points in the third quarter, they squandered their lead and the chance to win game 5 by allowing the Nets to come back.
Instead of the Bucks building on their momentum from the lead, maximizing the advantage they had over the injured Nets, and taking control of the series, they played foolishly. They took bad shots, didn’t make the proper adjustments, and didn’t utilize the mismatches that were in their favor.
The Nets ended up winning 114-108 and outscored the Bucks 71-49 in the second half. Kevin Durant led the way for the Nets and deserves a ton of credit for his historic night of 49 points, 17 rebounds, and 10 assists.
But despite Durant's impressive ability to carry his team to victory and dig out of the hole they were in during the third quarter, I can’t help but question how the Bucks let the lead slip away after having the game in their hands.
Based on the Nets' comeback and the Bucks' role in allowing it to happen, let’s unpack what it means to “squander a huge lead” in our own lives.
We have all been given grace, mercy, talents, gifts, opportunities, jobs, and money to accomplish God’s purposes and bring value to others.
1 Peter 4:10 (NLT) explains, “God has given each of you a gift from His great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.”
The question we should ask is, are we making the most of what we’ve been given...or are we squandering those blessings?
Also, are we being good stewards of all we have…or do we tend to be lazy, complacent, selfish, and unaware that the “lead is slipping away?”
Romans 12:11 (NLT) tells us to “Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.”
We don’t want to waste our talents or our financial gifts for meaningless purposes, but rather serve God and others. At the end of our lives, we don’t want to look back and think we squandered what God entrusted to us.
Colossians 3:23-24 (ESV) gives us this encouragement: “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”
As each of us takes an inventory of the opportunities, gifts, and relationships in front of us, let’s seek God’s direction to be good stewards and not let them slip away by being foolish.
If we’ve squandered parts of our lives in the past, let’s be reminded of the prodigal son who after wasting his inheritance, was received by his father with open arms upon his return.
Likewise, God welcomes us with open arms while His love and grace cover our past mistakes and empower us to finish strong from this point forward. All of us have more than we deserve, as God richly blesses us in so many ways beginning with salvation through Jesus.
Today, let’s have the approach that whatever we have and whatever we do, we do it for Him - not letting up or squandering anything.
We are given this appeal in 2 Corinthians 6:1 (NLT): “As God’s partners, we beg you not to accept this marvelous gift of God’s kindness and then ignore it.”
The Message paraphrases it this way: “Companions as we are in this work with you, we beg you, please don’t squander one bit of this marvelous life God has given us.”
I’m Bryce Johnson and you can UNPACK that!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, help me to take the gifts, talents, and blessings You’ve bestowed upon me seriously, and not to get careless by squandering them. Please show me ways I can be a good steward, and live with purpose and meaning for Your glory. I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.Discussion Questions for PACKS:
In what ways have you squandered blessings or wasted aspects of your life, and how has God’s grace allowed you to move forward?
In what ways are you encouraged today to use your gifts, talents, and money for God’s purposes instead of squandering them?
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