Today I’m amazed at how many people think about
their favorite sports teams. These
“sideliners” expect so much from their teams.
They know just who their team can beat and when the team fails to win
one of those games they just can’t believe what they’re seeing. They think
their team should show up for every game with a switch they turn on and play
the game to the fan’s perception of how they can and will play.
Fans sometimes forget that these teams and players
are just like them. Fans wake up every morning with a different take on life
and the world depending on how they think and feel that day. They sometimes
know that they have not prepared properly for what the day will bring, but are
unwilling to give the players that leeway.
Let’s think about some of the things that impact the
player and team and how they or the team will perform in any given game. To
start out, no matter what the sports pundits think, different teams matchup
differently. A team can kill a team one week and get blown away by a seemingly
lesser team the next week. Maybe their strengths and weaknesses matched up
better with the first team played than with the second, even if the second team
is rated lower.
Now let’s get more personal about the players that
make up the team. We’re talking about
men and women here. The day before the game, did any player sneak any alcohol
or drugs? Did they break the curfew, and the coach let them play anyway or did
they get sent home for a penalty that penalized the team by their absence? What
were their eating habits in the days before the game? What personal
relationship issues are they presently having with a friend or loved one? Have
they been doing the assigned work to better understand what to expect from the
other team.
There are many more individual dos and don’ts we
could talk about, but what about their support and training people. Are the coaches good trainers, motivators,
scouts and do they know the ins and outs of the sport? Do they manage the staff
and team in a good manner? Are they good communicators and set a high level of
expectation with a good game plan?
Let’s put aside our team
and player expectations and look at ourselves as to our game plan, or if you
will, God’s game plan for us. We are so fortunate that we don’t have to rely on
human coaches, trainers and teammates for our game plan hoping that all is
right, but God does use our teammates to help him communicate to us. If we live
in the present, trusting in the Lord in our daily living, He will direct us and
guide us toward what He wants us to do in the future. We do our part and he
does His part. He does not show us what the future is, but by living today for
the Lord, He leads us and the future takes care of itself.
St. Paul’s letter to the Romans
12:1 begins "I beseech you
therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a
living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of
your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect,
will of God."
So we have the perfect Life Game Plan in our seeking
God in all that we do. Instead of having to listen to many opinions as to how
our game will come out, we have the certainty that life with Him is the one and
only game plan as we suit up for the game.
In closing, St. Paul tells us how to suit up for the
game in his letter to the Ephesians 6:13-17, “Therefore take up the whole
armour of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and
having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten
the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of
righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you
ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the
shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows
of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the
Spirit, which is the word of God.”
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