"Dance With What Brung Ya"

The title is a “redneck colloquialism.” A few of you reading this blog instantly “got it,” but for the other 99%, let me explain. Dancing with the one “what brung ya” means sticking with the same dance partner, success story or game plan that got you where you are.

For example, if you were one of the teams who advanced to the NBA Playoffs, World Cup, or World Series, then the idea would be to keep doing whatever it was that got you there in the first place.

I always find it intriguing, as the teams dwindle during the finals, to watch some totally forget what brought them to that point. They sacrifice the very thing that made them a team worthy of the playoffs. Either their defense falls apart, they allow the opposing team to control the pace or they play as individuals rather than a team. Forgetting what brought them there, they are eliminated one by one.

There are lessons to be learned for our ministries from these sports tournaments. When God blesses us with ministry success – the Joshua 1:8/2 Timothy 2:2 type of success – what are we going to do? Here are a few probing questions we might ask ourselves:

• Am I committed to the original Scriptural game plan that brought me here?
• Will I give into the pressure to sacrifice principles for programs?
• Have I forgotten Who really owns this ministry?
• What am I willing to sacrifice in order to produce the results others may expect from me now that the ministry is successful?
• Who am I trying to please?

In Deuteronomy 8:11-18 we are given a great reminder that begins with these words.

“But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the LORD your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today.”