The Fatboy In Dodgeball Theory

Who can ever forget gym class in high school when everyone would line up against the wall and await the dreaded team selection? No one wanted to be that person picked last because of their lack of skill and/or appearance - or as I like to call it "the fatboy in dodgeball theory". Now this theory is not about being overweight but about being disqualified by others based on your outer appearance or because you are not part of the popularity circle.

I was blessed with some fair athletic abilities and had plenty of friends in gym class so this wasn't an issue for me. However, as an adult, I was invited to play basketball with a group of people who did not know me. During the warm-up/shoot around, I noticed I was one of the better players on the gym - not tooting my own horn but TOOT! TOOT! :) Any ways.... As team selection began, I was sure to be first, second or third choice worst case scenario but NOOOOOOO! Dead last! I mean SERIOUSLY?! One guy shot the ball as if he wasn't sure if he was right or left handed! Side note..... I am kinda competitive. So I played as hard, fast and best as I knew how! By the end of the game I had 11 out of the 15 points, 4 steals, 8 rebounds (mostly off my own misses) and 5 dunks!!! Ok maybe not the dunks but the rest were true. Ha! I showed them, huh? 

I would soon find out that this "fatboy in dodgeball theory" is common practice in the workplace where I was passed up for several positions based on popularity or the lack there of. Then time and time again throughout life even in the - brace yourself - CHURCH! Yes! This PK was the victim of the "fatboy in dodgeball theory" in church! 

Do you know who else was a victim of the "fatboy in dodgeball theory" in the bible? One of my favorites… David (1 Samuel 16). Long story short... God tells Samuel that the next king would come out of the household of Jesse, David's father. So Jesse rounds-up all his sons except David because he didn't think he was good enough – “he’s just shepherd boy”. Wow! That is just SO wrong in SO many levels!! Disqualified by his father, of all people! Eventually, Samuel asked Jesse to bring David and anointed him. Even after being anointed, David went back to taking care of the sheep. That little shepherd boy would become one of the greatest kings Israel ever had!  

You know what sticks out to me from that story? David's humility... He could have had a conceited heart toward his father and brothers at that moment - "Ha! I showed them"! But instead he went back to taking care of the sheep for about 13 years after he was anointed until he eventually became king. But during those 13 years God was with David. He played the harp with such anointing that evil spirits would flee… defeated a giant with a slingshot… defeated a lion with his bare hands… just to name a few things. 

Like King David, we have a choice to make when we fall victim to the "fatboy in dodgeball theory". We can complain and give up or we can work harder and keep living life to the fullest. Continue to use your God-given gifts His perfect timing comes for your life. Go take care of those sheep like King David did. Only you know what that may look like – for me it’s writing these blogs. 

But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7 NIV)