Football playoffs are winding to a conclusion and we had Thanksgiving day with lots and lots of football. In honor of this, today's post is about the lessons we can learn from the gridiron. It also honors my uncle, Greg Sherwood, who was an amazing coach.
Are you Ready For Some Football?
Everyone who competes in the games
goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we
do it to get a crown that will last forever. 1 Cor. 9:25
In West Texas football is not a game. It is a way of life. My family lived it, too. My dad seldom missed
a high school game in our town, unless it was to go to see my uncle coach a
high school game in another town. Greg was a phenomenal coach, and his 23-year
coaching record was 174-64-2. Coaching was not a job to him. It was a ministry.
He used the time on the field to teach much more about life than he did about
football. Nothing could get in the way of Dad getting to football games. One
night he had left with my grandmother to go to a game, and my brother and I
were home with Mom. The phone rang after they had been gone about 15 minutes,
and this is the conversation that took place.
DAD: “Stella, you need to bring me the
other car. I am out by the pizza place.”
MOM: “Why? What’s wrong?
DAD: “Well, I am sitting here watching
this one burn, and I have to get to the ballgame.”
MOM: “OK, I’ll be there in 5 minutes.”
There are spiritual lessons to be
learned from football. In football there are two teams. Each team has an opponent,
a coach, a goal and a group of cheerleaders. There are rules and there are
rewards. The same things are true in our
Christian lives.
We as believers are a
team. We must work together to win. Many verses speak to this idea, but one that
comes immediately to mind is Galatians 6:2. Bear ye one another’s burdens and
so fulfill the law of Christ. We definitely have an opponent, and he is not
just playing. According to John 10:10, he comes to steal, kill and destroy. In 1 Pet 5:8 he is described as a lion
seeking whom he may devour. We have a
coach or a leader in God. Our goal is to
bring salvation, restoration and healing to others.(2 Cor. 5:18, Mark 16:15,
James 5) In Hebrews 11, the writer
describes the great cloud of witnesses cheering us on. Yes, there are rules to be followed. Some
people get focused on the rules and forget the goal, and some people forget the
rules and focus on the goal of eternal life. Think how this would work in
football. Suppose one team decided they were going to get a touchdown
regardless of how many people got hurt or run over. Another team might get so
interested in following each rule to the letter that they never got around to
scoring or found any joy in the game. It
takes a balance of both, in football and in life. As a reward in football, a team will receive
a trophy, a write up in the newspaper, and fame. As Christians, we are promised
a crown of life. This is what we read in 1 Cor. 9:24-25
Do you not know that in a race all the runners
run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into
strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to
get a crown that will last forever.
God meets us where we are and
teaches us from the things we understand.
Like Uncle Greg did with his players and coaches, take the lessons from
the gridiron and use them every day. The most meaningful thing Greg ever did
for me was to send me a telegram when I went to state track meet. It said, “We
are all the same. We all have arms, legs, eyes, ears and a head. The difference
is in the heart.”
