After graduating from college I moved back home and worked construction to help pay off my school loans. During this time I helped out with the youth group at church on Tuesday nights and sometimes for weekend events.
One time that autumn our youth group went paintballing. I had never been paintballing before, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect and how much ammo I should buy. We played a couple of games, and I ended up not doing a whole lot of shooting, so I was able to make my ammo last most of the day. We played a few types of games on a couple of different courses, and then it was time for our last match of the day.
We had played a few games of capture the flag, but this time was a different variation. There was a really cool stockade fort that looked like something you’d see in the American frontier, and it was surrounded by a number of trenches that more or less served as a moat. Rain from the previous night made the trenches nasty and muddy, and there were still large puddles in many areas of the trenches. The stockade had a large courtyard, and in the courtyard stood a large stake with a flag on it. The only way for the assaulting team to win was to grab the flag off the stake without getting shot. If the flag was still on the stake when time ran out, the defending team won.
Since I was low on ammo, I couldn’t be much help in any kind of assault on the stockade. I noticed that the stake with the flag was near one of the trenches, so I decided I’d try to sneak through the trenches and go for the flag.
It took forever. I stayed low so people in the stockade wouldn’t know I was there. Stealth made for slow going, though. Every now and then I’d be able to take a pot shot at an opponent, or I’d be able to lay down some covering fire while a teammate tried something. I wasn’t able to help for very long though. I ran out of ammo. I was in the middle of a paintball match without having any paintballs.
I focused on the fact that the objective of the game wasn’t to shoot the most paint, but to capture the flag. Although it wasn’t the most natural thing to do, I pressed forward with a paintball gun that was little more than a decoration. I slogged through the mud until I finally arrived as close to the stake as the trench would take me. I waited until I heard a bit of a skirmish nearby, and rolled up out of the trench behind some cover. Now that my secret was out, I had to move fast; I sprinted toward the stake while shooting harmless bursts of CO2 in the general direction of defenders up on the stockade. The flag was just feet away!
I didn’t even get close. I got lit up with paintballs. I was muddy, wet, cold, and suddenly out of the game. Time expired, and the defending team won.
It was an important lesson, though. As you go through your Christian life, you’re going to encounter situations you didn’t anticipate, and you’re going to feel unprepared for them. During those times it’s important to keep your eye on the goal. In this example, I didn’t need to have paintballs to help our team win a game of capture the flag. Don’t be distracted by things that seem like they should matter, but in the end have little or no bearing on whether or not you obtain your objective.
I’m not sure what your contribution to the Kingdom of God is, but don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you only have one thing to offer. If your primary means of service is sidelined for some reason, either temporarily or permanently, look around at other ways you can get in the game. This may be your opportunity to try something you wouldn’t have tried otherwise.
If something has recently sidelined your usual means of serving and you find yourself “playing paintball with no paintballs,” keep your eye on the objective. You’re still in the fight.