Be the Change
Monthly Column by Dr. Krista Driver

It’s baseball season! My favorite sport (to watch) has taught me many life lessons. Aside from the usual “being a team player”, “perfecting our passions” and “keeping the eye on the ball (or goal)”, baseball is full of metaphors and analogies. Watching the LA Angels play recently, I was fascinated by one such metaphor.

The players and coaches not only study their own team, but they study every other team in the league. They know the batting averages of each player, pitching patterns, strengths and weaknesses of their opponents. The coaches of other teams are scrutinized for calls they make, personality styles...and the list goes on and on. Bottom line is if a team is going to go to the World Series they MUST know each individual and collective opposing forces.

In addition to knowing their rivals' skills and patterns, they must perfect their own skills. A player cannot step up to the plate and hope for the right pitch that will send the ball flying into the bull pen to raise cheers for a home run. He must be alert and prepared to strike the ball at the precise time and with the exact amount of force.

Baseball truly is a mental sport and something of a balancing act. They must balance their talents, knowledge and physical agility with an equal amount of knowledge about the individuals they are playing against in any given game. Each player plays both offensive and defensive.

I thought about that in terms of my own spiritual journey. It isn’t sufficient to study the Bible or attend church every Sunday. Nor is it enough to hope to live a Christ centered life. Please don’t misunderstand. Those things are all essential for me to grow in my own “skills” as a believer and to perfect my knowledge of who God is and who I am in relationship to Him. Yet, there is so much more to being a Christian.

We must know our opponents. If we don’t become aware of the skills and patterns of our rival (Satan) how can we avoid being duped by him? Satan uses many MANY ways to take us off our path and dedication to serving God. I believe it is essential to every believer to know the deceiver -- to know the tactics and antics of the father of lies. Ignorance is no excuse. We can’t call "foul" when something knocks us off course and we claim innocence because we didn’t “know” about it. It is our responsibility to be vigilant and informed.

That would be like getting pulled over on the freeway and expecting to get out of a ticket because we didn’t know about a particular law we just broke. The government prints the laws, they are accessible to the public and they expect us to inform ourselves of them.

The same is true of God. He gave us an instinctual ability to know right from wrong. Yet, He took it a step further. He gave us a manual -- a book of instructions and teachings (the Bible). He also gave us teachers and preachers to guide us on our spiritual paths. It is our responsibility to be informed.

A true balance to living a Christ centered life is knowing what you are dealing with. If you think being a Christian means having a stress free life, you are mistaken. Satan doesn’t mess with people who are already complacent in their faith, rejecting God’s Word and not actively seeking Truth. No, Satan spends his time and energy swaying people away from Truth, and he often directs it at those who have the potential to influence other people toward Truth. Know his antics and tactics so that you are not one who is swayed.

And just an FYI -- Satan doesn’t come to us with a pitch fork and horns. If we saw that, we would know not to listen or follow. Rather, he often uses the people in our lives to influence us. What are the people around you (friends, family, coworkers, pastors, teachers, mentors) doing in their lives? If the people around you are “shady”, why would you blindly follow them? It is your responsibility to be vigilant and on the look-out. Just because you didn’t see it or know about it doesn’t get you off the hook. Here’s a small example. If a wife chooses not to look into the husband's odd behavior and unexplained revenues, and just wants to walk around with blinders on (even if other people have told her that he appears to be doing something “shady”), she can’t cry innocence when he is caught stealing company funds and loses everything. It was her responsibility to be vigilant. That is why it is so incredibly important to choose our friends, spouses, and associates wisely, and carefully examine everything we are told and read. Don’t just take my word for it or the pastor's word for it (don’t believe that just because he is the pastor that he is speaking Truth). Look it up, study it, prepare your heart, pray about everything AND listen for God’s voice in everything that you do and every relationship you enter into. Put on the breastplate of armor, guard your heart, take your mind captive, and know the enemy so that you are not deceived. Test everything by the Spirit.

Batter up! Who’s ready to take on the opposing team?

About the Author: Dr. Krista Driver holds professional certifications in diagnosing and treating eating disorders and substance abuse. She is licensed in the State of California as a Marriage, Family, and Child (LMFT) therapist. Currently working in private practice, Dr. Driver is also the Founder and Executive Director of Serenity Center For Change (a public benefit nonprofit in California). From transitional living to equine therapy, Serenity Center for Change offers the tools to assist others in initiating effective change in their lives. Dr. Driver has published one book (But I Want A Casserole) and is currently awaiting the publication of her second book (But I Want the Whole Loaf). Visit her website at www.DrKristaDriver.com.