The pride, The athlete & The bully

In a book called Season of Life a high school football coach explains what it means to "be a man" in today's society. He answers the question, what makes someone masculine? He says when we are young, the boys that are good at sports are esteemed as "masculine." Then as we become older, the young men who draw the most attention from the ladies are seen as the most "masculine." As we become older men, masculinity is defined by how much money we are worth.

Athletes, in my observations both as an athlete and as a high school teacher, are for the most part proud, arrogant, and self-centered. (generally speaking. There are exceptions, of course) They've got it all! Right? Athletic ability and maybe some attention from the opposite sex. That's "being a man." That's "masculine." Our culture is building in our athletes the very thing that God despises, PRIDE. I cannot tell you how much the word PRIDE is used in athletics. The word is in every slogan, chant, and speech. It is printed on handouts and painted on locker room walls.

The result: This pride reveals itself in the way of bullying or belittling those they perceive as "weaker" or "less masculine."

Never have I been more disgusted with pride, then in the PE locker rooms at my high school where I taught. I witnessed so many of my favorite students suffer from the belittling comments and the humiliating treatment that came from some of our athletes. It broke my heart.

Christian athlete, you are not acting like one of His sheep when you conduct yourself with pride. What a great opportunity to be different, to be salty. Stick up for the bullied, invite in the outsiders, serve others, and humble yourself. Serve God by acting like Jesus, not acting like a jock.

1Cr 1:27
But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;
1Cr 8:12
But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.

Mat 25:40 Jesus said:
"And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'

Read David's prayer to God concerning the proud in Psa 10:1 - 18

I welcome other scripture that applies. Post a comment if one comes to mind!

2 Tim 3:1-5: Avoid such people

"But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people."

Is this you? Are these the "Christians" that you are comparing yourself to.

Unfortunately it is the case almost everywhere that there are people calling themselves Christians who's lives are in opposition to what Jesus taught. It is dangerous to compare yourselves to these impostors and let yourself be influenced by their ungodliness.

You might think...

• it's OK to watch this movie or go to this web site because "so-and-so" does it and he's a Christian.
• It's OK to treat people this way because "they" do it, and they're Christians.
• It's OK to talk trash on the football field and act arrogant because my "friends from church" do it.
• It's OK to talk back to my parents or coach because most of my "church friends" do.

Hopefully you can see the danger in surrounding yourself with such people. Paul was warning Timothy of those in the church that lived a double-life. He told Tim to avoid these people.

In 2Ti 3:13-14, Paul goes on to tell Timothy, "while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed,"

Over time it will become clear the impostors around you are standing on sinking sand as their lives go from bad to worse. Make sure you are not being deceived by them or with them. As Paul says continue in what you have learned, and not in what you have witnessed in these impostors.

Compare yourself to Jesus, follow Jesus, and follow those that are truly following Him.

Be Kind

"Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." Eph. 4:32

"And the Lord's servant* must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone," 2 Tim. 2:24

A reminder to be kind to others today.
...to your parents.
...to your teammates.
...to your coaches.
...to the other team.
...to the officials (umpires, ref, judges, etc.)
...to strangers

Some simple ideas: Smile, open doors for them, say thank you, compliment them, listen. Say hi to a stanger today with a smile on your face.

Even those that are mean, frustrated with you, rude, confrontational, impatient, and/or disrespectful?

Yes. especially those. Prov. 15:1 "a soft answer turns away wrath"

Lightchaser Photography

"From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God." Romans 1:20 NLT

Do you ever doubt God's existence? Sometimes you need to just stop and look at the creation that surrounds you and know that there is the creator and that He is... amazing...powerful...creative...organized...beautiful...brilliant...wonderful...

Be blessed by Rick Furmanek's Light Chaser Photography. He captures God's creation in a way that makes me love God more, to put it simply.

Clean it up!

"Clean it up!" My coach used to yell this at us when we were playing a little too relaxed. It was his way of reminding us that we were sloppy, and our little mishaps needed to be "cleaned up." Our focus would get off and therefore we would not be sharp. We would miss balls that we shouldn't, we would make mental errors, and we would just get sloppy. Every team experiences this.

Christian, God's Word calls you to clean up your life, to stay focused on Him, to stay sharp so you don't slip. Evaluate your life to see if your decisions and behaviors reflect a faith in God.

Be careful, though. Some, who don't understand the teachings of the Bible think that God requires us to clean up our lives before we can come to Him. You hear people say things like, "Oh I can't go to church, they'll kick me out of there" or "I've got some issues to take care of first."

1 Timothy 1:15 says, "Christ came to save sinners..."

Christ did not come to die for those who were clean. He came for those who were unclean, and those who recognized that no matter how hard they tried, they could not clean themselves up. In fact, if you read the Gospels (Mat., Mark, Luke, and John) you will find that the people Jesus had the most conflict with were those who thought themselves to be clean (The religious leaders). The truth is that we have all sinned. (Romans 3:23) and that we are all in need of Christ's cleansing.

The encouraging thing is God wants to clean us up. Our responsibility is to respond to Him by believing. With believing, or faith, comes salvation."Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life." John 6:47

Don't be mistaken, though "Christian." There is a false teaching out there which has been named "easy believism." Easy believism is where people say they believe, but there is no evidence in there life that they truly believe. If you truly believe that Jesus is God (who He said He was) there would be a dramatic change in your life. Your faith would be evident by the way you live your life.

God's Word does call us to "Clean it up!" The good news is, He gives us the power to turn away from unrighteousness (sin) once we believe and surrender our lives to Him.

Memorial Day

I just listened to Pres. Bush's speech at Arlington Cemetery. He said something that I think is good for us to reflect upon. This isn't an exact quote, but I believe it is close. He said something along the lines of...

The cost of freedom is being purchased with the lives of those that are living for a cause greater than themselves.

This is God's definition of love, laying down your life for another. Today we remember those Americans that have truly loved our country. I am thankful for those men and women that have put their lives on the line to serve our country.

"Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13
"By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us," 1 John 3:16

We are commanded to love one another as Christ loved us. How did He love us? He laid down His life. We should daily lay down our lives for others. This doesn't always mean literally dying a physical death for others. Putting your interests aside, literally sacrificing your wants, your needs, your pride, and your will for the needs, wants, and interests of others.

"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." John 15:12

Arguing your faith

Faithful men and women, I can remember many times in my life when my faith was the center of an argument with one of my unbelieving friends. I look back at some of those disputes and cringe.

If you are living out your faith, discussions with your friends will happen. These discussions are truly great, and are what we pray for, but also have the potential to be explosive and become argumentative. I encourage you to be gentle. Read 2 Timothy 2.

in 2 Tim 2:14 Paul encourages Timothy to remind Christians "not to fight about words; this is in no way profitable and leads to the ruin of the hearers."

Again in v. 16 he continues with... "shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness."

v. 23 "But reject the foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they breed quarrels. v24 The Lord's servant must not quarrel, but must be gentle to everyone, able to teach, and patient, instructing his opponents with gentleness." (ESV: "in humility correcting those who are in opposition")

I love that he says "instructing" "correcting" and "teaching" with "gentleness" and telling them not to "fight," use "idle babblings," or "foolish and ignorant disputes"

It is good that you have passion about defending your faith. But consider this, your friends will not "come to their senses" through a heated argument.

2 Tim 2:25 "if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, v. 26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil,"

If they are convinced, it will be because God convinces their heart. You nee to trust Him. When those conversations come up about Jesus, instruct your friends out of humility and gentleness, don't get caught up in things that don't matter. Bring it back to the gospel. If they get upset, be patient.

Carry on Christian.

Mark 10:45

In Mark 10:45 Jesus said...

"for even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve."



In Mat 25:31-46 Jesus said...

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’

Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

2 Timothy 1:7

"for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control."

Paul (Timothy's coach in the faith) is writing to Timothy from prison. Paul knows that the one thing that can hinder the use of Timothy's gifts is fear.

I often find myself forgetting that God has given me His spirit and that it is one of power. When I feel weak I need to be reminded that my God is strong and He has given me all the power, love, and self-control I need to handle any circumstance.

How do I face the fears that seam like Giants in my life?

Living in the Spirit of God. Setting my mind on the things of the Spirit.

Christian athlete, you should not be fearful, undiscipline, or un-loving in your sport.

How do you know you are saved?

My high school football coach used to tell us before film session, "gentlemen, put on your thick skin." He was preparing us to hear the truth about how we performed. He didn't want us to be so offended and hurt by his feedback that we would miss out on the truth of how we needed to get better. Coach had a choice, protect our self-esteem and let us fail to learn from our mistakes, or tell us the truth, wounding our spirit, but enlightening us to the truth so that we would know how we could become better.

Christian, put on your thick skin. Hear the truth of this tough message. Take time to be silent and evaluate your life. There might not be a more important message that I could forward on to you than this.

Do not play this video if you have less than an hour to devote to this. The sermon is 48 min. and you are going to need some time to digest this after viewing it. Do not play this video without first praying that God would prepare your heart and reveal His truth. Do not play this video with "thin skin." Listen.

1 John 2:17

"The World and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever." 1 John 2:17

What are the desires of this world? Money, Appearance, Prestige, Success, Power, etc.
What about the world of sports? Hits, Strike outs, making the team, winning, awards, championships, scholarships, drafts, pro. contracts, etc.

Scripture says these things are passing away. All of these things are temporary.

Christian athlete, my question to you is: will you be devastated when it does pass away? Are you wasting your time playing for the temporary or are you playing your sport focusing on what is eternal, "the will of God"?

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, you have been given abilities for a purpose greater than championships and scholarships. Discover what God's Will is for you in your sport. Pray that He would make clear to you your purpose for playing.