Colin Kaepernick is one of the most polarizing players in sports - thanks to his decision to kneel during the National Anthem last season. At the moment, he is a free agent quarterback looking for a team willing to give him a chance.
Despite his skills and accomplishments with the San Francisco 49ers, it appears there is very little interest across the league. He put up solid numbers early in his career and took his team to the Super Bowl, but the 29-year-old is without an NFL job.
His protests and social media comments over the last year have created quite the media stir, and the fact he hasn’t been signed yet has caused lots of reaction. There are differing arguments as to why teams don’t want him at the moment, and it will be very interesting to see if anything changes.
The part of the conversation that I’m drawn to is the concept that Kaepernick “deserves” to be in the NFL. There are media members that think commissioner Roger Goodell should step in and make sure he lands on a team. There are people that look at Kaepernick’s resume and believe he “deserves” the chance to be out there.
I passionately dislike this mentality. Sure, you can make a case for why a team would want to sign him and list off his stats, but he doesn’t DESERVE to be an NFL player.
If teams don’t want to sign him, then that’s their decision. Maybe they’re missing out on having a talented QB, but jobs in the NFL are not just handed out.
As much as I loved watching Tim Tebow, and thought he should have remained in the NFL as a QB, I don’t like to say he “deserved” a spot on the roster either.
I think this philosophy carries over into other areas of life, as well. We easily get caught up in thinking we “deserve” a great job, a specific salary, certain luxuries, and a nice vacation.
We can probably make a case for each as to why we think that, but there is a level of arrogance at the root of our entitlement.
We take this mindset a step further because we think that we “deserve” blessings from God. When we serve others or regularly go to church, we think we deserve God’s favor. We can quickly become very entitled...believing that God owes us something.
Of course He blesses us, and we reap what we sow, but we have to humble ourselves by realizing that what we actually deserve is death. Nothing we do should cause us to think God is ever in debt to us. We don’t even deserve our next breath, but God gives it to us as a gift.
The Bible says in Romans 6:23 (ESV), "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Thankfully, God is filled with grace, mercy, and love and gives us what we don’t deserve. And even though our sin should lead to death, He instead made a way through Jesus for us to receive salvation and eternal life.
The only one who deserves something is God. He should get all of our praise, love, and obedience. I’m Bryce Johnson and you can unpack that!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, please forgive me for thinking I deserve anything. I’m so grateful for Your blessings, and I pray I’d live in humble adoration of Your goodness and mercy. I pray I'd be reminded that I deserved death for my sin before the life-changing work of Jesus on the cross. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
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