Prior to Saturday's basketball showdown between Michigan State and Illinois (both undefeated in the Big Ten going into the game), Spartans guard Durrell Summers used a familiar analogy to describe his team's position.
"We kind of have the bull's eye on our backs once again," he said. "I think that helps us at our place, just because teams are going to try to come in here and give us our first loss on our home court. I think it keeps us focused and will help us win the Big Ten championship."
When your team is the leader, everyone guns for you. Your opponents feel threatened by you, and the proverbial bull's eye is always on your back. When you're at the bottom of the pack, no one pays much attention to you. No one tries to knock down a last place team like they do the league leader.
In sports it's clear which position is more desirable. While it is much more stressful, the bull's eye is embraced as a sign that your team is on the right track; the arrows shot at it are welcomed because they keep the team focused on persevering toward their goal of a championship.
It's no different on the field of spiritual competition. When your team--the Church--is the leader, the bull's eye is always on your back. Your opponents go after you much harder; you are seen as a threat they need to eliminate. When you stand up for what is true and just--the sanctity of human life in all its stages and circumstances, marriage and the family, even faith itself--the arrows come full force.
Would we rather be in the cellar, with the anonymity and apathy that comes with losing? No sports team would, and neither should we.
Let's embrace the bull's eye as all athletes do, as a sign of the power, strength, and ultimately the undeniable truth of our team and its mission. We're number 1!
(By the way, Michigan State won on Saturday. Just one more arrow that missed the target.)
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