A few weeks ago, near the end of a kids’ lacrosse game in Brentwood, Tenn., my son took a hard hit and immediately fell to the ground, clutching his arm.
As he lay there writhing in pain – he took a stick to the elbow – the other players “took a knee.” It’s a custom in lacrosse, soccer and some other youth sports to kneel when another player gets injured.
ThinkstockTaking a knee teaches respect. Opponents can be talking trash one minute and showing concern for an opponent the next.
My son turned out to be OK except for a swollen elbow, but the incident made me think of how kneeling is underrated. When we kneel we are humble yet upright, resting yet alert. It’s a good position from which to pray, laugh or whisper to a child.
For those of us who are full of ourselves, kneeling is a sigh of submission to a higher authority, of living outside ourselves.