a Greater Glory

When you think of an athlete desiring to be the best at his or her particular sport, what do you imagine them doing in order to get there?  A football player may spend countless hours in meetings and in the film room, disecting a particular 3-4 defense or Cover 2 defense.  An All-NBA defender may scout a top scorer for weeks, deciding where his weaknesses are on the court.  A pitcher may weigh the strike zone of the league’s best hitter – what is he prone to swing at to induce a double play?

All these practices have the same concept underlying each of them:  meditation.  In order to achieve their potential, each player must go above and beyond to unlock those areas of talent that are, until that point, hidden.  It’s working hard even when one feels like kicking back and watching Sportscenter.  Matt Birk, Baltimore Ravens center, explains the grind of studying through the notorious NFL playbook:

“This is my 10th year in the league, and I still take my playbook home. Because the defenses are always changing, too. They’re always giving different looks. It’s kind of like a cat-and-mouse game between the offense and defense. That’s why football, I think, is a great game. Very few guys can get by on just talent.”

And this guy went to Harvard!  He brings up an excellent point as well.  The end result is not just to be better in and of yourself, but to have an edge over the enemy, which in football is the opponent.  If Birk isn’t on his game, he is liable to get dominated by a defensive tackle on a stunt move.  He always needs to be aware of his schemes, lest he become vulnerable at the most important times.

I think about these athletes and how seriously they train to become the best in the game.  Shouldn’t we, as Christians, be striving for the same thing?  Paul instructs us in 1 Timothy 4:7-10:

“Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.”

Just as in sports, Christianity requires training – reading God’s Word, praying without ceasing, filling our minds with pure thoughts.  Paul says that all this is not in vain.  We are to receive the prize of glory at the end of our struggle.  That is one end to which sports will not provide.  In sowing godliness in this present age, we will reap the privilege of seeing Jesus face to face one day.  And about enemies:  Paul asserts in Ephesians 6 that our war is not against the tangible things of this world – people or governments.  No, our war is against the principalities that stand in opposition to the Word of God.  The Bible talks about the devil prowling around like a lion, ready to devour.

Paul endlessly speaks on “standing firm” in the faith.  That’s our call.  And it comes through daily meditation on the good things of God.  One final note:  Unlike an athlete, we will never arrive, so to speak, in this life.  God has far greater plans for his sons and daughters.  He gives us this promise in 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24:

“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.”

The world we live in is interesting to say the very least.  I remember my father always telling me that a man is only as good as his word.  In other words if you say you are going to do something, make sure you do it.  Jesus believed this same idea as seen in Matthew 5:33-37:

Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

It seems that this idea of letting your “Yes” be “Yes”, and your “No”, “No” has been forgotten in professional sports, specifically the NBA.  Just yesterday there were reports of LeBron James telling free-agent Trevor Ariza  that he would be staying in Cleveland past this year.  Today, there have been reports that this is not necessarily true.  If LeBron said he was going to stay he needs to step up and say, “Yes that is what I said”.  Unfortunately that will never happen.  If LeBron James stepped up right now and said “Listen, I am planning on testing free agency next year, but Cleveland is my first choice” would anyone have a problem with that? It could possibly affect some of the free-agent signings they make this year, but there is always a possibility that something could happen where LeBron never plays again.

There are numerous examples in the NBA where yes no longer means yes. Joe Dumars could not give Avery Johnson a straight yes on whether he would retain him past one year (see “When coaching isn’t enough” for more on Dumars), so Avery pulled his name from consideration for the Detroit Pistons job.  All Dumars needed to do was be straight with Avery and say, “You know I will probably be looking for another coach in a years time, you are more of a stop gap for this year, until 2010.  We are going to try and make a run at LeBron James and I want to bring in a coach that fits LeBron’s style”.  Hedo Turkoglu went back on his acceptance of the Portland Trailblazer’s offer and decided instead to sign with the Toronto Raptors.  Carlos Boozer did a similar thing to Cleveland in 2004.  Clay Bennett the owner of what is now the Oklahoma City Thunder originally had said he wanted to keep the Seattle Sonics in Seattle, when he was really just lying to keep people off of his back.  The examples could go on and on in the NBA.

Obviously not everyone will follow the idea of letting your “Yes” mean “Yes” and your “No” mean “No”, but how different would the NBA, professional sports, and the world look if people followed the simple idea of keeping to your word, even if it means having to do something that is unpopular or not what you personally might want to do. What do you think?

It’s never a good sign when one of your players states that they will stay with your team only if your team contends.  Dwayne Wade who will be a free agent come next summer (2010) has already stated that if the Heat can become championship contenders again in the Eastern Conference that he would be interested in sticking around.  Unfortunately, the Miami Heat only boasted a 43-39 record last year which gave them the 5th seed in the Eastern Conference.  With teams like the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic picking up some big name free-agents it will be important and necessary for Miami to look to restock and put in place some players to help take the burden off of Wade.  If the Heat are hoping that players like Mario Chalmers, Michael Beasley, and Daequan Cook are the players that will take Wade and keep him around, they are most likely mistaken.  The Heat should be seriously pursuing a big man to contend with the likes of Dwight Howard, Shaquille O’Neal and even Kevin Garnett (although not a true center).

According to the Boston Herald and sports agent Bill Strickland, Rasheed Wallace is set to join the Boston Celtics for this upcoming year. Wallace was set to have meetings with Orlando, Dallas, and San Antonio but has told his agent (Strickland) to call them off.  With Wallace, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, and Rajon Rondo,  the Celtics look poised to make another run at an NBA Championship.  The Eastern Conference is shaping up in to a conference that will have 3-4 top teams with other teams scrambling to maintain relevancy.  Cleveland, Orlando, and now Boston have all made big off-season moves to bolster their line-ups.