STOP, CHECK THE LABEL ON YOUR YOKE !

By: Frank Coletta

            Where was he? The bus was empty and he wasn’t to be found. Where was Darryl Strawberry, the great dodger outfielder? Spring training was over and he hadn’t shown up at the ball park for practice before the season’s opening game. No one knew where he was. No phone calls. No messages. He simply vanished. Finally late into the night word came over the news lines that Strawberry was OK. He was found but he wasn’t ready to play baseball. He was drunk. How could a million dollar athlete get into drugs and booze and destroy a golden career? He said, “It was the pressure, the stress of having to produce everyday.” He couldn’t deal with the enormous pressure. Alcohol and drugs gave him the relief he sought to deal with it all. It was his crutch, a crutch that let him down.

             It’s so easy to think that the guys at the top have it made. How could they do such a stupid thing and throw a glorious career all away? We who have little, as this world measures wealth, look at the superstars and wonder, “What are they thinking?”  We only see the gloss, the show, the lights and glory. What goes on behind the scenes can kill you. The pressure is enormous. You have no personal life. You can’t even eat at a McDonalds without a crowd glaring at you. You have no family life for seven months. Your kids grow up without you. You might get to see your wife for a few minutes between road trips. At every hotel there is a line of girls who will do anything for a ticket to the “show”. Have a bad day and listen to the crowd boo you. Have a bad week and read your demise in the sports news. Have a bad month and spend the rest of the year in the minors. Have a bad season and spend next year packing groceries at Wal-Mart. Pressure.

            Satan can hold out the carrot of wealth and prosperity but he never shows you the price tag that comes with it. He hides the truth under the glaring lights and interviews of fame. Booze, drugs, and gambling take some of the pressure off of your shoulders but the game still has to be played. It starts all over in the morning. Nobody gives anything away in this world. Our adversary has many disciples who carry out his will cheerfully. You don’t have to be a major league ballplayer to know what Satan can do to you right where you live. The stress is everywhere. Pressure is not restricted just to the rich and famous; it’s part of everyday life.

            Christ came to give us peace in the midst of the stress of living in this world. His yoke is light and easy to carry. Every yoke has its weight of pressure. Christ’s yoke gives us rest. It’s a yoke of gentleness and humility. Learn form Him. It Strawberry was yoked to Christ he would have found the strength to deal with the pressure. Life would have been livable for him, not only livable but amazingly victorious and glorious. Life would have had meaning and purpose for him. His priorities would have been in line with God’s. He would have had an enormous source of strength from God to deal with all that life will dish out.

            We will all toil in this life. Why not follow a master that truly cares for you and wants to give you everything rather then following one who holds back the truth until it’s to late, one who secretly plans to destroy you just when you think you’ve finally made it. Jesus came to give us life as it should be lived but the destroyer, the great deceiver, comes to kill, rob, murder, and steal that life from you.

            You don’t have to be a superstar to see the difference. Before you walk away into the darkness why not turn to Jesus. Check the label on your yoke. It will tell you if it was made in heaven or hell. It could be why you’re having so much trouble making sense out of your life.