So the Packers have finally caved, taking Brett Favre back to the team where he will "compete" with Aaron Rodgers for the starting quarterback position.
Right. Anyone care to bet how many games Rodgers will actually start?
The utter selfishness of Favre's decision just floors me. So what if the Packers have already made transition plans? I want to play. So what if the franchise is trying to put together a five year plan for strengthening the team and building the brand without Favre? I want to play. So what if the Packers are justifiably concerned about the possibility of trading an almost-washed up but still very capable quarterback to a division rival? I want to play.
Unfortunately, it's not just professional football players that have this attitude. Putting personal desire before the common good is as old as, well, time itself. It just seems to not only be worse lately, but to be more socially acceptable, if not lauded. It's expected that everyone is out for themselves, and if you don't rush to "get yours" first, well, too bad. In our backward thinking, we admire those who grab all they want at the expense of others, calling them shrewd or good planners. We may pay lip service to those who are willing to sacrifice self for the benefit of others, but all the while we are thinking, "Better him than me."
Individual Christians and the church in general is not immune; we simply disguise it a bit better. Truth to tell, it's not Favre's situation that set off this rant, but a prayer request for a friend who has had a stroke, to which the author of the e-mail appended information related to a personal agenda that had no place in the request. We cannot even pray for another without using it as an opportunity to further our own causes.
How to combat it? The only person I have any influence with is myself; guarding against this type of behavior is the first step. Speaking up when I see it in others is the second.
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