Enthusiasm ...

Enthusiasm is a wonderful thing to observe, feel and to engage in personally. Most of us enjoy watching and being around someone who is enthusiastic. In coaching my Junior Varsity Volleyball team this year it has been interesting to see the ebb and flow of enthusiasm. My groups of girls are very enthusiastic about some things, though not always while they are playing. The truth is that I wish they would show a little more enthusiasm during matches. This is not to say that they have no enthusiasm. This week for instance they are all pumped up because it is homecoming week at our high school. They are enthusiastic about helping to create their class float for the parade. They are enthusiastic about participating in "Girl-illa Football", most schools call this powder puff football. They are enthusiastic about the Homecoming game, party, dance and the revealing of the Homecoming King and Queen. This makes trying to practice this week a bit problematic. I received a phone call about an hour and a half before last evening's practice asking if I could cancel it because most of the girls were working on their homecoming float. I politely informed them that there would be practice and they all showed up, some of them with paint all over their hands and arms, but they were there.

Witnessing this enthusiasm got me to wondering about enthusiasm in the church and in our daily walk as followers of Christ. I wonder, do we show as much enthusiasm as Christ would like to see in us? Where do we show enthusiasm? Do we get enthusiastic about the opportunity to worship? How about the chance to witness? About giving? How about reading our Bible, serving others, helping those less fortunate, caring for the hurting or about changes in our church?

So where is your enthusiasm, spiritually speaking? Are you one for whom your coach wishes you would show more enthusiasm? Or, are you one for whom the coach has to constantly remind to calm down? As a pastor I don't think I have ever had anyone to whom I had to say "calm down" in my 24+ years. I wonder how that would feel?