Know Your Role and Shut Your Mouth

Karen Estep describes how one of Travis Kelce’s crazy quotes can be applied to listening for God’s calling.

The first Super Bowl that I can remember the Chiefs going to was the 2019 game against the San Francisco 49ers. The atmosphere in Kansas City that day was electric. It was a beautiful day, bright sunny skies, in the mid-60s (KC weather is super weird, one day it can be -15 and the next mid-60s). Everyone in our neighborhood was out grilling, as I imagine everyone in KC was that day. We basically lived in one huge tailgate. We were all excited to see the Chiefs in that game and we came together to be a Red Kingdom. We won that game, and I cannot tell you how many people shot off fireworks, popped champagne bottles, and looked forward to the parade to come. We hadn’t won a Super Bowl in 50 years!

All my life I have been a Chiefs fan. I was born and raised in Kansas City, MO, and still reside here. I have lived through some pretty sparse times as a fan, including the “Oh no” Bono years. However, in KC we know a thing or two about resiliency and waiting for our time to shine.

And shine we have since we’ve gotten some of our stars, like Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes. Also, Andy Reid will forever be one of my favorite coaches. The last five years has been fun watching the Chiefs play football because the team is having fun playing the game.

Personally, I think Travis Kelce can be a bit “extra,” as my middle school students would say. However, in light of the mayor of Cincinnati saying some pretty obnoxious things before the conference championship game, which Kansas City ended up winning, Kelce had some words of wisdom of his own for the mayor of Cincinnati after winning the game: “Know your role and shut your mouth!”

This got me thinking a lot about our roles as Christians. Sometimes, we need to know our role and shut our mouth to let the Holy Spirit take over.

A time to be silent and time to speak. (Ecclesiastes 3:7b)

How we speak to ourselves at times can be extremely harsh. Sometimes we listen to the wrong things and only trust in those wrong ideas. The “I’m not good enoughs” come forth and we have forgotten our role as a child of God. We need to know our role and shut our mouths. God loves us even in the midst of our brokenness and what we think is not enough, He often uses it for greatness. If you look back at the lineage of Jesus, the only person good enough was Mary. God used a whole line of brokenness to bring His only begotten Son into the world. Listen for His calling when your first instinct is to sell yourself short. You are a child of God; that is your role.

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Sometimes the Holy Spirit can speak through our friends, and we need to know our role and shut our mouths to listen to what they are saying. Joseph Ossai was called for an unnecessary roughness penalty late in the Bengals/Chiefs’ game that ended up being extremely costly for the Bengals. We all watched as he was visibly upset at the end of the game. A small part of me was like, ”Yeah, that’s what you get!” But another part of me wanted to reach out through the TV and tell him we all make mistakes. Several of his teammates went to speak with him on the sidelines and in the locker room.

At that moment, he needed those teammates to lift him up and let him know he was still a vital part of their team. Ossai needed to know his role and shut his mouth and listen to what his team truly thought of him, not what he thought they were all thinking. Hopefully, we all belong to a team just like that. If you do not, I encourage you to find your team. A team that will lift you up, even when you make mistakes and remind you of your role. You are a vital member of this Christian team; that is also your role.

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Listen for His calling when your first instinct is to sell yourself short. You are a child of God; that is your role. #CatholicMom

Often, when we stop talking and just listen, we get our time to shine. When we truly focus on the next step, that is when the light bulbs turn on for us and we see that God’s way is the best way, it always has been and always will be. We may have to live through some figurative “Oh no” Bono years but when we stay resilient, great things come our way. We just need to know our role and shut our mouth sometimes.

No matter who wins the 2022 Super Bowl, I pray that both the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs remain healthy. I pray that both cities remain safe and have fun in the joy that this game will bring. I pray for a Chiefs victory too, because I sure do love a parade!

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