Be a Setter

I was recently playing volleyball at our local church when one of the guys on my team commented to me, “It’s okay to set to me. I know how to spike.” (For those who don’t know, the setter “sets” the ball so that another teammate can make a play.)

And then it occurred to me: We should seek to be setters. Especially as women (1 Cor. 11:9).

That may sound extreme. Sexist, even. Don’t we as women get a say in anything? What about equality? What about our success? I can hear the feminists pounding on the door with a warrant for my arrest.

Let me say that there are times when we too need to be “set” to, when we need to be supported, strengthened, or affirmed. I’m not denying that.

However, from a design perspective, we are called to help and support—to set—in a way men are not. Man was not created for woman but woman for man. And may I add, to be your own setter is not only difficult but against the rules.

Setting isn’t glamorous. If there’s a great spike during the game, it’s not the setter who is high-fived. It’s not a position for showing off, except perhaps in the event that the ball needs to be blocked at the net. And yet, it’s a position that takes practice and skill.

Some may now be asking the question, “Why would anyone want to be a setter? Of course, setting well matters in the outcome of the game, but it’s not usually something the spectators notice.”

Might I draw our attention to the reality that our heavenly Father sees what is done in secret and rewards what is done in secret (Matt. 6:4, 6, 18). Jesus was talking about giving, prayer, and fasting, but the principle applies here as well. Leave a good deed to integrity. Be content with a humble act of obedience in the privacy of faith.

In the world at large, we have too many spikers. People who want to make a name for themselves. People who want to show off their abilities. I’m sure most of us can think of someone who fits the bill—on the court or off.

What we need in the world are not more spikers but more setters, men and women, those who are secure enough to set to others and giving enough to “rejoice with those who rejoice” (Rom. 12:15). It is these, Jesus says, who are truly the greatest (Matt. 23:11). Make no mistake, there are setters throughout history whose names we do not know but who achieved a greatness and influence the world has neither noticed nor imagined.

We may have our spiking moments, which have their joys, but as Christians we are called to be setters, to not be envious or anxious but choose the delights of faithfulness and peace. Not everyone is worth setting for, but that doesn’t mean the position is unnecessary or doesn’t require skill.

Every spiker needs a setter. Maybe it’s a spouse, parent, or son or daughter. Maybe it’s a friend. Whatever the case, be a setter.