I’m not finished with blogging highlights from the 2024 Olympics, but I want to acknowledge those who are faithfully following the Historical Books Reading Program. It’s a little tough right now with 1 Chronicles opening with nine chapters of names!

One of the best features of Eugene Peterson’s The Message bible is the book introductions, and the introduction to Chronicles is no exception. Here’s his paragraph on the names:

The task of Chronicles was to recover and restore Israel’s confidence and obedience as God’s people. Names launch this story—page after page of names. Holy history is not constructed from impersonal forces or abstract ideas; it is woven from names—persons, each one unique. There is no true storytelling without names. Chronicles erects a solid defense against depersonalized religion. – From The Message, Introduction to Chronicles

I’ve found it interesting to look for the few places where there are comments in addition to just listing names. One of those places is 1 Chronicles 4.9, 10. I include the verses on either side so you can see the contrast:

The sons of Helah: Zereth, Izhar, and Ethnan. Koz fathered Anub, Zobebah, and the clans of Aharhel, the son of Harum. Jabez was more honorable than his brothers; and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.” Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!” And God granted what he asked. Chelub, the brother of Shuhah, fathered Mehir, who fathered Eshton. Eshton fathered Beth-rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah, the father of Ir-nahash. These are the men of Recah. (1 Chronicles 4.7 – 12, ESV, emphasis on verses 9 and 10)

One of my early Navigator mentors Mel Leader observed (long before The Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson came out) that maybe Jabez gets this special mention because he’s the only guy who was praying in his day. He actually asked God for something:

• Oh that you would bless me and
• enlarge my border, and that
• your hand might be with me, and that
• you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain! (1 Chronicles 4.10, bulleted for clarity)

There are two surprises: one that Jabez would ask for such things: blessing, increased territory, God’s presence, and God’s protection. The first part, especially, sounds a bit selfish. The second surprise is God’s response:

And God granted what he asked.

I think the challenge is clear.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us… (Ephesians 3.20, ESV)

[Jesus said: ] “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7.7 – 11, ESV)

You have not because you ask not. (James 4.2, KJV)

When I wrote yesterday about Stephen Nedoroscik, the single-focus pommel horse guy at the 2024 Olympics, I didn’t say much about his eye condition.

...he has a condition called strabismus, which is defined by the Cleveland Clinic as a form of eye misalignment, but it’s more commonly known as being cross eyed. He’s revealed on TikTok that he suffers from light sensitivity, caused by a coloboma — an area of the eye that is missing tissue, per the Cleveland Clinic. – NBC Sports, August 3, 2024

When he takes off his glasses to do his pommel horse routine, he literally cannot see. He does everything by feel.

The condition makes it extremely difficult for children to become athletes, Dr. Christopher Gappy, an ophthalmologist at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center, said. About 4% of children younger than 6 years old are diagnosed with strabismus, medical officials have said. Nedoroscik is a rare case, Gappy said. “Those athletes are like unicorns. They’re super rare,” Gappy said. – Stephen Nedoroscik, the Olympic ‘pommel horse guy,’ is a unicorn, University of Michigan doctor says, Michigan Live, August 6, 2024

That’s what makes the rest of the story special. Porter Fox, a 7-year-old, from Denver, Colorado, has coloboma also. He and his mother, Emily, were in Paris for the Olympics. Here’s the story as reported by NBC-affiliate KOBI.

Emily Fox was scrolling Facebook on her phone Tuesday morning in Paris. She was slowly waking up, preparing for a big day out with her family. She and her kids had traveled in from Colorado to attend some Olympic events and explore France. Emily’s social scroll stopped when she saw a post about a U.S. gymnast with coloboma, an exceedingly rare eye condition that severely impacts vision and the physical appearance of the pupil. 

In the case of her son, Porter, the pupil of his left eye is shaped like a keyhole, spilling into the ring of hazel green. He’s essentially blind in that eye, too.

The headline on Emily’s screen read: “Gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik is the Clark Kent of the 2024 Olympics.”

…Emily pulled up the routine on her phone for her son to watch. “I always like to share things with Porter that are inspirational and uplifting and just reassuring him, you know, he’s not different ­­in this world.”

The family headed out for a day of wandering. They hadn’t seen the Eiffel Tower yet, so that was first on their list. They noticed the TODAY Show crew in action and, before they knew it, Al Roker was ushering Emily’s family onto the set. Porter and his sister, Brinkley, hung out right between Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb for the final segment of Tuesday’s show.

The family had plans to watch Olympic water polo at Paris Aquatic Center, so it was almost time to go when an NBC intern mentioned that the U.S. men’s gymnastics team was right around the corner, making the media rounds after their first team medal in 16 years. Emily casually remarked that her son has the same eye condition as one of the gymnasts and, hey, isn’t that cool? The intern disappeared.

Minutes later, she reappeared with Stephen Nedoroscik. He walked right up to Porter and got down to his level to compare eyes. This was the first time either of them had met another person with their condition. “Porter said to me, ‘Mom, I really thought I was the only person with coloboma,’” Emily said. (Emphasis mine)

…Suddenly, the seven-year-old realized he wasn’t different. At least not next to his new friend, the Olympic hero.

They talked about Porter’s favorite sports – he’s into soccer and basketball these days – and they embraced for photos. Before Stephen was whisked away for his next appearance, he left Porter with one message. “Stephen told him, ‘Remember, you can do anything,’” Emily recalled. “‘Don’t ever let [coloboma] hold you back.’”

That message didn’t take long to sink in. By day’s end, Porter was listing off all the sports he would one day compete in on the world’s biggest stage. “He was saying, ‘Mom, I feel like I can go to the Olympics now,’” Emily said.

“’I want to be just like him.’”

I cry as I read this. Why? Not only is it a heart-warming story of an Olympian’s willingness to relate to a 7-year-old, it’s the story of the gracious God, working behind the scenes, who brought them together. An “everyday” miracle, I think.

All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. (2 Corinthians 1.3, 4, MSG)

While we bemoaned the fact that the US track team can’t seem to figure out how to put together a 4 x 100 relay team that can both run AND pass the baton, the men’s gymnastics team worked on ending their medal drought. It turns out the team usually failed to medal because they failed on the pommel horse.

PARIS—The U.S. men’s gymnastics team was on the brink of winning its first Olympic medal since 2008. And the only event remaining was the one that haunted the Americans most during the drought.

It’s a bedeviling apparatus with two handles called the pommel horse. And to a generation of American gymnasts, it might as well have been covered in baby oil.

But when the U.S. unveiled this year’s Olympic roster, it featured one unusual selection: a goggle-wearing, self-professed nerd named Stephen Nedoroscik. In a sport with six different disciplines, he was the lone team member picked to compete in a single event. – Wall Street Journal, July 29, 2024

It turns out that Stephen learned in high school that the only gymnastics skill he was good at was pommel horse, so instead of working to get better on the other disciplines, he focused purely on the pommel horse. Now he’s 25 years old, a graduate of Penn State in Electrical Engineering and can solve a Rubik’s cube in less than 10 seconds. A geek. And he wears thick glasses to help him see despite two rare eye conditions. He takes them off to perform on the pommel horse giving him the appearance of a laid-back Clark Kent turning into Superman.

You can see his entire routine here (1 minute). Or, watch the entire sequence from set-up through celebrations with his teammates (4 minutes and worth it).

It’s one of the best feel-good stories of the Olympics, and there’s more. Stay tuned.

Paul said “this one thing I do.” Not, “these 14 things I dabble in.” – Skip Gray

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way… (Philippians 3.12 – 15, ESV)

There’s great mystique in the 100-meter dash. The winner gets to call himself “The World’s Fastest Man.” The 2024 Olympic champion is Noah Lyles of the US, and I’m excited. But which is more accurate: “World’s Fastest Man” or “Winner of the 100-meter dash in the 2024 Olympics”?

Here’s what I mean:

Noah Lyles beat the Jamaican by 0.005 seconds, the #3 guy was 0.02 seconds behind. That’s his red shoe across the line – the shoe, not his torso. All the runners in this picture finished in a span of 0.12 seconds.

You can watch the photo-finish race here.

Only one receives the gold medal, but they’re all extraordinarily fast. Here are the times: all under 10 seconds:

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. (1 Corinthians 9.24, ESV)

Unfortunately, it wasn’t much of a surprise that the US men’s 4 x 100 relay ended with a botched baton exchange. The men’s 1500 final did have a surprise: the US unexpectedly won!

Cole Hocker of the US wins the 1500.

Here’s how the race set up as described in The Final-Lap Frenzy That Delivered a Shocking U.S. 1,500 Meter Gold in the Wall Street Journal, August 6, 2024:

SAINT DENIS, France—Months of bluster and braggadocio had set up a heavyweight fight in Tuesday night’s 1,500-meter final. 

On one side, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the pretty boy Norwegian whose family is athletic royalty. On the other, Josh Kerr, a swashbuckling Scotsman whose mouth may be the only thing that runs faster than his feet. 

The rivals have been locked in a battle for “metric mile” supremacy since the previous Olympics in Tokyo. So as they raced side by side at the Paris Games, they jostled for position, and watched each other’s every move.

What they didn’t see coming was a man-bunned American named Cole Hocker stealing into the lead.

In a shocking come-from-behind victory at the Stade de France, Hocker surged to victory in the home stretch to become only the second American runner to take the Olympic 1,500 meter title since 1908. Kerr finished second as Hocker’s teammate, Yared Nuguse, took the bronze medal.

You can watch the race in its entirety here. The Norwegian is in white and leads most of the way; the Scot is in black.

The “pretty boy Norwegian” came in fourth!

Ben-hadad sent to him and said, “The gods do so to me and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people who follow me.” And the king of Israel answered, “Tell him, ‘Let not him who straps on his armor boast himself as he who takes it off.’” (1 Kings 20.10 – 11, ESV)

As we share some highlights from the Olympics for the next few days, I want to get this “lowlight” out of the way. It’s an example of not applying our closing verse from yesterday’s blog:

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12.11, ESV)

Three years ago after the Tokyo Olympics I wrote that it’s not enough to be fast to win the 4 x 100 relay. You have to know how to pass the baton. It just happened again, and as a guy who knows practically nothing about track and field, I’m wondering about our process.

The US has not won a medal in this event since 2004 despite having some of the fastest men in the world. These pictures, one from 2021, and the other from last week, are nearly identical. Different runners, but both, apparently, a product of a system that doesn’t work. Are we not selecting the right runners? Men who are not only fast but who can listen to instruction and learn to work together? Do we not know how to train the lead guy on when to start running?

As I opened with, it’s a failure to apply Hebrews 12.11. You would think “they” would use the disappointment (“chastisement”) of the failure in 2021 to propel them to figure it out – to develop “the peaceful fruit of righteousness” – seamlessly passing the baton. Nope.

But the US women won their 4 x 100 relay. Different coaches? Different system? We’ve got four years to figure it out. The proverbial definition of insanity is repeating the same action but expecting different results. The other applicable piece of wisdom is:

Your systems are perfectly designed to give you the results you’re getting.

Churches keep putting all their emphasis on Sunday mornings and wondering why they’re not getting the quality of disciples they say they want. Is church simply “a performance at a place with programs run by professionals,” as David Platt has written? Or are we serious about our God-given job description?

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ… (Ephesians 4.11 – 13, ESV, emphasis mine)

PS I shared the ideas of this blog with Mike Oldham, friend of mine and Adminstrator (and pastor-coach) of the American Baptist Churches of the Rocky Mountains, who offered this analysis and lessons-to-be learned:

• It’s ego: these guys care only about their own event and don’t take time to practice handing off the baton
• Churches have the same problem:
  • The pastor who won’t retire and pass the baton to the next generation
  • The Sunday School teacher with the same death grip on her class
  • Those who run out ahead and don’t even wait for the baton to be passed
  • The good singer in the praise band who would rather stand out as a soloist than blend in

Good lessons, Mike. Thanks! And with respect to my observation about systems, Mike has a sign in his office:

You don’t perform up to your vision; rather you perform down to your systems.

Yesterday we talked about the endurance race that we’re all on from Hebrews 12.1 – 3. Immediately following that is a section on discipline. And competing in any sports event requires discipline.

But the “discipline” of this paragraph of Hebrews is not “training,” as in “train yourself for godliness,” (1 Timothy 4.7). It has more to do with hardship or even punishment. It’s the same word as used in Ephesians 6.4, “Fathers, do not exasperate your children, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. (Hebrews 12.4 – 10, ESV)

As we think about the Olympics, which just concluded a few days ago, we see a lot of the “punishment” kind of discipline. Those athletes who, for example, lost in the previous Olympics in Tokyo, only to come back successful in Paris. Simone Biles, the world’s greatest gymnast, could barely compete in 2021. Would she come back? She did, with great success. Likewise, Noah Lyles didn’t do as well in Tokyo as he wanted but won the 100-meter dash in Paris. He wanted to win the 200 as well, but “settled for” bronze, this time with a good attitude.

These athletes and others used their hardship to propel them forward in their training – the other kind of discipline – which is how the section in Hebrews 12 closes:

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12.11, ESV)

We ended our review of God’s Faith Hall of Fame with the first part of verse 35: “Women received their dead back to life.” It’s on the list with “conquered kingdoms…closed the mouths of lions…” Great stuff. But if there’s a single verse of scripture that kills any idea of a health and wealth “prosperity gospel,” it’s this verse. Here’s the rest of it:

…Others were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. (Hebrews 11.35, NIV)

That part continues:

Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. (Hebrews 11.36 – 38, NIV)

Tough stuff.

Not one of these people, even though their lives of faith were exemplary, got their hands on what was promised. God had a better plan for us: that their faith and our faith would come together to make one completed whole, their lives of faith not complete apart from ours. (Hebrews 11.39, 40, MSG)

The text continues with a clear message for all of us, the “therefore…”

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. (Hebrews 12.1 – 3, ESV)

It’s an endurance race. A race with spectators! All those folks and their like in Hebrews 11. Winners lay aside harmful things and distractions because they know…

…the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. (Mark 4.19, ESV)

A race where Jesus is the goal and the example.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2.5 – 8, ESV)

And winning a race requires discipline, the next subject in Hebrews 12, the topic of the next blog, and certainly the inescapable message of the Olympics, from which I’ll be sharing some stories over the next few days.

Those of us in the Historical Books Reading Program have just finished Hebrews and are about to start 1 Chronicles, a parallel look at some of the stories of 1 Samuel – 2 Kings. But it starts with nine chapters of names! I’ll be reading in Psalms as a supplement during that time, and the blog will talk about lessons learned from the Olympics, among other things. Stay tuned.

We wrote about Randy Gradishar’s induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame a couple of days ago. A great accomplishment, and he used the platform well, but how much better to be in God’s Hall of Fame! Does God have one? Some think Hebrews 11 comes pretty close: The “Hall of Fame of Faith.”

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible… And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Hebrews 11.1 – 3, 6, ESV)

As we look at the list of names and why they’re listed (hint: they took action), we’re reminded that faith is not a matter of simply “believing” a few things. As James wrote:

Faith without works is dead. (James 2.20)

Here’s the list:

• Abel “offered a better sacrifice”
• Enoch “pleased God”
• Noah “warned about something he hadn’t seen, built an ark.”
• Abraham “said yes to God’s call and moved…”
• Sarah “received power to conceive”

Interlude

Each one of these people of faith died not yet having in hand what was promised, but still believing. How did they do it? They saw it way off in the distance, waved their greeting, and accepted the fact that they were transients in this world. People who live this way make it plain that they are looking for their true home. If they were homesick for the old country, they could have gone back any time they wanted. But they were after a far better country than that—heaven country. You can see why God is so proud of them, and has a City waiting for them. (Hebrews 11.13 – 16, MSG)

• Abraham “offered Isaac”
• Isaac “blessed Jacob and Esau”
• Jacob “blessed each of Joseph’s sons”
• Joseph “prophesied the exodus and made arrangements for his own burial”
• Moses’ parents “hid him away…”
• Moses
  • “Refused the privileges of the royal house”
  • “Chose a hard life with God’s people”
  • “Valued suffering in the Messiah’s camp far greater than Egypian wealth”
  • “Left Egypt”
  • “Kept the Passover Feast”
• Israel
  • “Walked through the Red Sea…”
  • “Marched around the walls of Jericho…”
• Rahab “welcomed the spies…”
• Others (like Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets)
  • Toppled kingdoms
  • Made justice work
  • Took the promises for themselves
  • Were protected from lions, fires, and swords
  • Won battles
  • Routed armies

And this part of the list ends:

Women received back their dead, raised to life again… (Hebrews 11.35, NIV)

Some of the early ones on this list like Abel (murdered), Abraham and Moses had a tough time, but nothing but victory for that last group! Let’s join God’s team!! Not so fast, but that should be the subject of another blog. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, bravo to these examples of faith, people who believed God and took action. Here’s another:

In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 9.10 – 17, NIV)

“But the Lord said, Go!” And Ananias went.

As long as we’re on the subject of football and God having people everywhere, it’s time once again to talk about the “controversial” kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs, Harrison Butker. Last year I applauded him for telling the graduates of his alma Mater, Georgia Tech, that getting married and having a family was among the best things they could do. Today that makes him “controversial” and reminds us that we are very much in exile. After Butker’s graduation speech this year to a private Catholic school, a change.org petition that the Chiefs should fire him garnered nearly 240,000 signatures!

Here’s some of what he said and the reaction to it as reported in A Swift Kick in the Pants by Ray Hacke, May 21, 2024.

[Butker] pulled no punches…in his commencement speech to graduating students at Kansas’ Benedictine College, a Catholic private school, in mid-May….“Our own nation is led by a man who publicly and proudly proclaims his Catholic faith, but at the same time is delusional enough to make the sign of the cross during a pro-abortion rally.”

…Butker also voiced his opposition to the national pro-LGBT celebration known as Pride …Butker unabashedly condemned “the deadly sin sort of pride that has an entire month dedicated to it.”

Butker’s speech at Benedictine called on men in the audience to “be unapologetic in your masculinity” and to “reject this lie that has been told to you that men are not necessary in your homes and in your communities.” He encouraged them to “fight against the cultural emasculation of men” and connected America’s epidemic of violence to America’s epidemic of fatherlessness.

…Most controversial of all, though, is that Butker dared to suggest to women at Benedictine that perhaps they should reject the “girl boss” endeavors that society strongly urges them to pursue and that they may find greater fulfillment as wives and mothers, citing his wife as a chief example.

Of course, as so often happens in our modern world, Butker’s words went viral. And of course, it sparked outrage, including from the Kansas City’s leaders…While not condemning Butker’s speech, the National Football League distanced itself from it in a faux show of so-called “respect” for its female fans…But here’s what the NFL likely did not expect: Just as sales of former Philadelphia Flyers hockey player Ivan Provorov’s jersey skyrocketed after he took his stance against Pride in January 2023, so did sales of Butker’s jersey. And according to Kansas City TV station KCTV, women’s Butker jerseys are selling out on Chiefs.com. 

Hacke ends the essay this way:

More Christian athletes should follow his example, using their God-given platforms to proclaim God’s truths—no matter how unpleasant those truths may be, no matter what hostility comes their way.

Jesus was controversial, too.

When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” So there was a division among the people over him. (John 7.40 – 43, ESV)

The Jews then said, “That clinches it. We were right all along when we called you a Samaritan and said you were crazy—demon-possessed!” (John 8.48, MSG)

For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1.17, ESV)

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ. (Ephesians 4.15, ESV)

PS Rather than firing Butker, the Chiefs have recently made him the highest paid kicker in the NFL.

Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men. (Proverbs 22.29, ESV)