The Gospel and Playground Economics

I just read a blog post that Malia Obama, daughter of President Obama, is typically the first one picked when making kickball teams at recess even though she has suspect fielding skills. Funny stuff. I also just read where they cast lots to choose teams in 1 Chronicles 25. They weren’t really choosing teams, but they were choosing the order of the terms of service for the musicians in David’s royal court. The passage notes that the lots fell and no bias was made according to age or experience. It hit me at the end of the chapter that Romamtiezer and his family were the last ones picked. It could have been really disappointing.

It brought back memories of times when I wasn’t picked. I wasn’t picked to be in the gifted class. I wasn’t picked to be on the “A” All-Star basketball teams. I can remember fighting over unfair teams on the playground. There were a lot of tears shed, a lot of angry words said, and a lot of self-victimization. The enemy had a field day.

After Jesus comes on the scene and pronounces the arrival of a new Kingdom, a new economy, he describes that it works like this, “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

When you really think about it there are tremendous advantages to being the last one picked. Expectations are low. Little successes are celebrated as milestones. Mistakes are expected. It doesn’t mean we lower our expectations or strive for mediocrity. Instead we have the opportunity to learn from those picked before us. It just means that the yoke is easy, and when the yoke is easy, then work is fun, and when work is fun I believe we are our most productive. I wonder if Romamtiezer and the boys enjoyed their work more than the others?

What about you? Recall any “last one picked” stories? How might Jesus redeem them?