Dharius Daniels - Tag, You're It

I want to discuss this subject during our time together. I’m about to date myself with this topic, but some of y’all are old like me, so you’ll relate. Here it is: I want to discuss the subject «Tag, you’re it!»

I was raised in an era that lacked many of the modern technological advances we now enjoy. There was no iPhone, no iPad, no Apple Watch, no YouTube, no Instagram, no Facebook, no TikTok, and no Clubhouse. In fact, there weren’t even cell phones. If you left home and needed to contact somebody, you pulled off to the side of the road and found what was called a payphone. If you needed to reach someone who was really special, you could call them on a pager. You could beep them if you needed to get in touch.

Because of the absence of this type of technology, our entertainment was affected. We had to entertain ourselves growing up in ways that are different from this current generation. We actually had to go outside and play. When our parents got tired of tolerating us inside the house, their go-to phrase was «Go outside and play.» One of the activities we engaged in was a simple, almost embarrassingly entertaining game called «Tag, you’re it.» For those unfamiliar with this game, it’s really simple: one person would touch another person, tagging them, and take off running. The person who was tagged was responsible for catching the other person. If you caught them, they were «it.»

From time to time, you would play this game with someone who was so elusive and fast that they would sap the enjoyment out of it because they were almost uncatchable. You would chase them for a while, only to quit when you realized you couldn’t catch them. However, as I reflected on this experience, I realized it carries exegetical value. Maybe the issue with that activity is that, in many cases, people actually weren’t uncatchable. Perhaps the issue was that we were unwilling to chase long enough to catch them. What do I mean?

There were times we would stop chasing someone because we assumed we needed to be faster to catch them when, in fact, we didn’t need more speed; we just needed more stamina. We didn’t need more elusiveness; we needed more endurance. What’s the lesson that can apply not just to the game of tag, but to the game of life? Some things you will only catch if you are willing to chase long enough. What have you not caught because you stopped chasing? What have you not run into because you stopped running? What have you not obtained because you have not pursued, assuming incorrectly that you needed more speed when, in all actuality, you needed more stamina?

Somebody’s frustrated because you feel like it hasn’t happened fast enough when God’s trying to get you to see that the issue is not speed; it’s stamina. If you chase it long enough, you can catch it. I was having a conversation with some of our team, discussing progress and similar topics, and I told them, «Wherever I am, it took me 15 years to get here.» Whatever you think about where I am, it took me 15 years to get here because some things you don’t catch unless you chase long enough.

As I mentioned at the Liberal Trinity Church of God in Christ in Jackson, Mississippi, during those Bible studies in my sophomore and junior years of college, listening to Elder Keith Quinn teach in front of maybe 12 people as if there were 1,200, something happened inside me. I told myself that what he did for me with his words is what I want to spend the rest of my life doing for others with my words. I want to rock the world with my words. From that moment, I started chasing something: Jesus. Wherever I am in my communication, it took me 15 years to get here, and I’m still chasing.

There are some things in life we won’t catch unless we are willing to chase long enough because some things that are meant for you have to be fought for. This is what all the battles in the Old Testament are about. God is not glamorizing violence; He uses the battles in the Old Testament as a powerful picture and metaphor of what you, as a believer, must go through to possess what has been promised. Some things that are for you need to be fought for. Jericho was Israel’s, but they had to fight for it. Did you hear what I just said? Canaan land was Israel’s, but they had to fight for it. The fighting is not about works righteousness; it is an expression of your faith. It says, «Because I believe this is mine, I will fight for it.»

If you go home right now and see someone taking something from your house that belongs to you, or if you enter a store and someone tries to grab your child, you will not hesitate to act. If you see someone walking with their child, you don’t intervene, but if someone grabs your child, you might react strongly.