And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death - even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name (Philippians 2:9):
Caitlin Clark has taken the basketball world by storm! During her 2023 national tournament run, Caitlin set a single tournament scoring record with a total of 191 points, she became the only player in NCAA women's tournament history to record back-to-back 40-point games, and she was a part of the most-watched women’s college basketball game ever when she went toe-to-toe with LSU in the 2023 women’s national championship basketball championship game.
But Caitlin said that one of the hardest things she had to deal with was how hard her coaches coached her. Caitlin said her coaches coached her hard, and she wanted them to because the harder her coached coach her, the harder they could coach her teammates.
But she often had to take more blame for mistakes than she wanted and sometimes deserved, which can be tough on anyone.
Being a servant leader in this way can be very difficult. Heavy is the head that carries the crown, and few crowns in college basketball have been as heavy as Caitlin’s. But if you can find a way to manage that and continue to lead and bring others with you, the reward can be more than worth it.
No one has a heavier crown to carry than Jesus. The night that he was captured, it is written in Luke 22:44 that Jesus prayed so hard that his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
But Jesus came to fulfill a promise that began in Genesis 3:15 and was woven through the entire Old Testament. This promise was that at some time in the future, someone would come and be our savior.
Last week, I wrote about the prophet Isaiah and how he told the people that their land will be destroyed because they refuse to listen to and obey God’s word, but how he also told the Israelites that because of God’s promise to David, God is going to send a new king to save Israel.
The book of Isaiah tells about the coming of Jesus (Isaiah 40:3-5), his birth (7:14), His proclamation of the good news (61:1), and sacrificial death (52:13-52:12), and His return (60:2-3).
Jesus, by his very nature, was God, but he didn’t consider himself equal to God, nor did he take advantage of his status. Instead, Jesus humbled Himself by coming to earth and dying for all of us.
Because of that, God exalted him to the highest place, God gave him the name that is above every name, and that in the name of Jesus, every knee should bow.
In Philippians 2:6-11, the Apostle Paul wrote this about Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death - even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
I am not in any way comparing Caitlin Clark to Jesus. But she did humble herself enough to allow her coach to coach her hard, and she took on more blame and responsibility than she had to.
Joyce Meyer says a humble person doesn't think more highly of themselves than they ought to but they don't think lowly of themselves either.
A rising tide lifts all boats. If we want to go somewhere quickly, we should go alone. If we want to go far, we should go with others. When we can be humble while continuing to work hard, we can go far and take more people with us.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
1 - How do you handle being coached hard? Can you find the constructive criticism within the coaching and can adjust, or do you shut down?
2 - Are you humble enough and secure enough to take the pressure off others by accepting more blame than you deserve?
For a Google doc version of this, click here: Week 22 | Heavy is the Head
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