Heads or Tails?
By Dean Collins
In 1956 there was a movie that was released called The Great American Pastime. And for most of my life, I have often heard the sport of baseball referred to the same way. However, in 2025 football viewership was greater than any other sport and nearly doubled those who watched baseball. Football might be the great American obsession.
At the beginning of every football game in high school, college, or the NFL, there is an important ritual that sets the stage for the game. The coin toss. Usually, an umpire or a referee are present along with the team captains. An official asks for one of the captains to call heads or tails, and then the official flips the coin. If you win the toss, you get to choose whether you want to receive the kickoff or defer to receive in the second half. The winner has the advantage of setting the strategy and momentum of the game if they can deliver on the decision.
As Moses rounded the corner of his long sermon in Deuteronomy, he told the Israelites that they also had a heads or tails decision to make. It had nothing to do with a coin toss but everything to do with their obedience to God’s commandments.
“And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them, and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.”
God’s blessings included how they would be viewed by others in the promised land. Obedience would elevate them to be leaders. They knew well what it felt like to be the tail after 400 years in slavery to Pharaoh. God had shown them over and over how he would sustain them during their wilderness pilgrimage. Obedience would bring them a completely different view and experience.
Moses warned them to keep their heads and hearts looking straight to God and to not run off to the right or to the left. This is not bad advice for us as well in every arena of life, including our politics. Our devotion is to be to God and his kingdom first and only.
The challenge with the blessing of leadership is that being the head sometimes goes to the head. Leaders can easily drift to wanting control, power, and all the privileges that are included. In order to keep the right perspective on this promise of being the head and not the tail, we must look to the teachings of Jesus as our guide.
In Matthew 20 Jesus warned his disciples who wanted to be the top dogs sitting on the right or left of him in eternity:
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles Lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
According to Jesus, when you have the blessing of leadership the way you live it out is by humility and service to others.
Peter reinforced this message in his first epistle when he said, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exult you.”
This decision of being the head and not the tail doesn’t come from the flip of a coin. It comes when we daily die to self and choose to live with and like Jesus.
Thank you, Father, for the promises of scripture. Thank you that you call us to be a part of your royal priesthood. We surrender ourselves to you today and ask that you lead us to those we might serve in your name. Amen.
Your Time with God’s Word
Deuteronomy 28:13-14; Matthew 20:25-28; 1 Peter 5:6-7 ESV
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