Empty Scoreboards

It used to be the business deal.

The closed contracts. The goals hit.

The number on the dashboard finally turning green.

That’s what made me feel alive. That’s what told me I was winning.

Not so much anymore…

Now it’s this... my kids in my arms, looking at each other. No agenda. No performance.

Just little people completely in the moment, and me holding them close enough to see it unfold.

There’s a purity in that I can’t fully explain. All I know is I want to slow down every time it happens.

Just watch.

Just stay.

The wrong scoreboard

Here’s what I’ve learned about men like us.

We measure everything.

Revenue. Reps. Followers.

Goals hit and goals missed.

We know our numbers like we know the final score from last week’s Bears game.

But ask us the last time we sat on the floor and just watched our kids be kids... and we have to think about it.

We’re winning on the scoreboard that doesn’t matter... and losing on the one that truly does.

Nobody gets to the end of his life wishing he’d checked one more dashboard.

Psalm 127:3 says:

“Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him.”

A reward.

Not a distraction from the real work.

Not something to squeeze in around the important stuff.

THE reward.

The thing you’re working so hard to earn... it might already be sitting in your living room.

But here’s what really got me.

Sitting there, watching them, I wasn’t evaluating anything…

I wasn’t checking their output. I wasn’t thinking about what they’d accomplished that day.

I was just... delighted in them.

Because they’re mine.

And it hit me. That’s how the Father looks at us.

“The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17)

He’s not reviewing my KPIs.

He’s not waiting on my quarterly numbers before He decides how He feels about me.

He takes delight. He rejoices over me.

With singing.

For a guy who spent most of his life earning his place... that’s hard to receive.

But think about it. Would you ever ask your kids to perform before you loved them?

Would you make them earn that look on your face when you watch them?

Of course not.

So why do you believe God works that way with you?

The challenge:

Two things. Today.

Check your “scoreboard”. Write down what you’ve actually been measuring your life by this past month. Be honest, maybe something’s feeling off?

Second... put the phone in another room. Sit down with your kids. Don’t teach. Don’t fix. Don’t correct. Just watch them for five minutes and let yourself enjoy them. Be fully present.

And while you’re sitting there, remember... that look on your face?

That’s the look on His.

You don’t have to earn it.

You just have to receive it.

-Angelo