Why football is the best sports analogy to life

There's nothing quite like watching a team that's working together, choreographing their movements play after play after play, performing as one.  It's why college basketball is more enjoyable than pro basketball, because the pros have become more and more about a group of individuals doing their own thing.  It's why pro football is better than college football, because the game of football can ONLY be perfected as a team, as interdependent players counting on each other to do their part for longer periods of time.  It's the only one of the major sports worldwide where half the team has absolutely no say in how half the game goes.

A person's legacy, in professional sports, is partly dependent on how many championships that team wins.  Football, then, seems completely unfair, because the best player at any given position can only influence half of the game.  Therefore, for as much as I abhor lists of greatest players ever, so many players are left off the list or are put farther down the list because they were on losing teams or never won it all.

Maybe "winning it all" in the sports world isn't all it's cracked up to be.  Maybe the one thing that drives each person to compete and strap on the cleats season-after-losing-season isn't a championship.  It doesn't sell tickets or create a loyal fan base, but maybe the best part about being a team is simply coming together as a team!

So, why is football the greatest sport ever?  Because the best way for all the pieces to work together is for each piece to be so good and focused at what they do, that they're not concerned about how another player is doing their job.  Plus, they realize that their best can always be better so they have grace for other parts that fail but are trying to get better.  One example is the whole dynamic of winning.  The left guard on the offense has some very specific jobs to do, but only on about 50% of the snaps.  Though a motivation may be winning, his immediate motivation is doing his job and knowing enough about the other 10 players' jobs that he jives perfectly with them.  He can leave the immediate motivation of winning to the head coach and the general manager.  They and they alone see the big picture and make decisions to move the right pieces in the right place in order to beat the next opponent.  And, when you turn it around, the head coach and general manager shouldn't have to spend any time concerned about whether the left guard is pulling on this play or not, but can look for other things on each play and each game to move forward.

Whatever other team you are involved with, use football as a great picture of teamwork.  Who's the "boss"?  Who's the one who sets the temperature and determines direction?  Find out all you can about their motivation, their goals, their M.O.  Now, make sure you know your role.  What's your immediate motivation?  Even it equates to bringing water out to the team at timeouts, do that role the best you can and find out how you can improve it.  Almost all GM's, team trainers, and offensive coordinators started at a position where they were faithful and good at what they did.

Finally, as the church, the simple transition into "Leaving it all on the field" is that we need to be all about our leader, the head of the church, Jesus Christ!  I'm not going to give it all I've got "on the field" just so that I can pull at the right time and block the right guy with the right kind of block. I'm going to do that play after play because I believe in what "the boss" is doing and that their way is the best way.  Jesus knows what He's doing, so get to know Him, His playbook, and His heart.

 

What's really needed during and after Covid.

 

"We need football now more than ever."

It's the way that Peyton Manning, a person I greatly respect (and not just because I'm a Bronco fan), introduces season two of his ESPN+ series, "Peyton's Place."  Does football help us get through difficult times?  Yes.  Isn't football a great way to have some good, clean fun when your stuck at home in the middle of winter?  Certainly.  

Without reading more into this statement than Peyton intended, I do want to point out the use of the word, "need."  Many would place football in that category even before 2020.  It holds a role in our society where emotional attachments, entertainment dollars, betting dollars, and bragging rights are hanging in the balance on a week-by-week basis.  I would argue, though, that it falls more accurately into the category of "healthy distractions that keep us from better things?"

As an example, allow me to turn to a culture without football or any other trappings of 21st Century America.  A missionary friend of mine relays a recent story of how Christian leaders in the Central African countries of Rwanda, Kenya, and Uganda are spending their time.  

When churches are kept from meeting together for seven months, what did these native pastors and leaders do?  Did they put up a fight against their government over-reach?  African governments typically don't work the way us in America are used to.  Did they go online-only in order to keep up the "habit"?  This isn't an option for many churches who don't have such capabilities.  Did they spend loads of time deciding on whether to jump through hoops or simply defy mask orders in order to meet?  According to my friend's report, they had too much to do to be concerned with that.

You see, these church leaders were trying to put into practice what the Bible defines as "better things."  Instead of looking to other things to take up our time and instead of trying to "do church" the way we've always done it, why not change our application of what the church should actually be doing?

After all, the church was not invented in the U.S. with this American culture doing things in our particular way.  The church was started by God in 1st Century Rome, in the religious center of the Jewish faith.  

As we're trying to do here in the middle of Minnesota, my encouragement to you is to remind yourself of the basics of church in Scripture.  Hebrews 3:13 says to, everyday, encourage your fellow believers in Jesus.  1 John 4:11,12 tells us the the world (who is the the church's target audience) can best see God when Christians love the way Jesus did.  Finally, in Philippians 2:3,4, we are hit with the challenge of having attitudes that place others as more important than ourselves.  

Now, how is YOUR church characterized?  Is it an accurate assessment based on the above passages?  Are you spending more time being a biblical church or are you spending more time trying to feel and look important in this world.

What is REALLY needed?  Churches full of believers in Jesus that act like Him, not churches fighting for their own existence.

Obedience IS attractive.

Obedience is just not an exciting word. No one will get much press writing on or expounding on or hosting a talk show where the subject is obedience. How many books have you seen with the title having "obey" in it? How many magazine covers feature articles on "new ways to learn obedience"? It's only something that you associate with dog training or little children (and only for their safety, at that).  How in the world do you live a life of obedience when obedience is seen as a weakness?

When I was watching preseason football yesterday, the word obedience was illustrated quite often.  Most specifically, I thought of a player that is trying to make the team.  They want to be in there for as many plays as possible, yet they don't beg the coach to keep them in the game when they're taken out.  They know they only have so much time to make an impression, but they submit to the coach's plan regarding how many plays they're in.

Maybe obedience is simply the smartest way to live a healthy and fulfilling lifestyle.  The question is . . . to whom (or to what) are you obedient to?  Our answer to this question will determine how healthy, joy-filled, and successful we really end up being.  For example, some of the most obedience people in the world end up living crime-filled lives (gang members, etc.).

If you choose to submit yourself to another person's plan for your life (or another philosophy), it better be a proven, 100% reliable authority.  In my brief time on earth, the only authority that falls in this category is our Creator, God Almighty.  Obedience to God and to His Son, Jesus Christ, brings life, joy, peace, and the ultimate in a successful life.  That's right, you will be doing exactly what you were created to do - bringing attention to Him while benefitting greatly from His care for you.

Obedience CAN be attractive, though it'll never be fashionable.  Would you rather live a successful life while others mock your choice to follow Jesus or would you rather look good pursuing something that leads to an empty life or even death?  Hmmmmm . . . it's often a daily choice, isn't it?  Choose Jesus, He never fades.