Archive for Work
In Pursuit of True Greatness
Posted by: | CommentsWright Thompson’s ESPN article on Vince Lombardi is a good one. Told through the tale of his Green Bay home, Thompson does a good job capturing him in limited space. Much of what he said reminded me of what I learned from HBO’s documentary, Lombardi.
If you haven’t seen the documentary, I highly recommend it. HBO did a great job capturing Lombardi in all his strength and weakness. And boy were there weaknesses. No doubt he was a great football coach, but in his own admission, he was not a great husband and father. As many of you may know, Lombardi was famous for saying his priorities were God, family, and football (in particular Green Bay Packers’ football). And no doubt those three things were closest to his heart. But when you really learn about him, it becomes obvious that football took first place.
His story is a sad one really. No doubt he won five championships and is remembered fondly in football circles. But those five championships cost his family a great deal of happiness and maybe even in a sense cost him his life (he died at 57). Either way, what is even more sad is that his story is far from unique. For no matter what one’s walk of life may be, when one is consumed with greatness in one area of life, the other areas of life cannot help but suffer. And when those areas of life are ones that should be among the most important, well, that is sad. Very sad indeed.
In this respect, I believe it is wise for us to recognize that although the Lord wants us to pursue greatness in certain endeavors, it is oftentimes unwise to actually become as great as you can possibly be. For it cannot be denied that in order to become the absolute best you can possibly be, you must make sacrifices. But more times than not, those sacrifices are not worth the cost. Family, friends, a life that honors the Lord and has time for others. These are vital. To deny them in order to become the best player I can possibly be or one day, the best coach I can possibly be at the highest of levels…well, long-term, it just doesn’t make sense.
That being said, I do believe there is often a way to do both. At least to a certain extent. And whatever that extent is, well, that is what we should be pursuing. In whatever our walks of life. And I really do mean whatever our walks of life. For there are plenty of pastors who make the same mistake as Lombardi. So also businessmen or teachers or whoever. We are all in danger, so we are wise to be alert, on our guard, always praying for wisdom and looking to the only One who defines what really matters in the end.
Serving Others in the Pursuit of Athletic Greatness – Part 2
Posted by: | CommentsAgain, I am answering (in blog form, for they deserve so much more!) the questions: Why and how should a Christian pursue athletic greatness? Or how can I justify my drive to become the best athlete I can be?
Yesterday I started on point three: A Christian can joyfully pursue athletic greatness because such a pursuit can and should serve others. I said that 1) By pursuing athletic greatness, God is blessing and you are serving those you compete with and against.
Today I move on to my second assertion.
2) By pursuing athletic greatness, God is blessing and you are serving the community in which you compete.
Though this point is probably rarely reflected upon, I think it should actually be quite obvious to all, Christian or not. For as I sit here and think about this point, I can’t help but ask: what would Penn State (my alma mater) be like without their storied football program? Where would the consistent connection be for the thousands of alumni who gather together in various venues to watch PSU football and who purchase football jerseys or other PSU gear for themselves and their kids? If it wasn’t football, what would be the thing that unifies this incredibly diverse group of people – alumni, students, faculty, and everyone else?
We might find something else, but I don’t think we would find anything else more powerful (unless it was another sport, but even then, it is tough to top the numbers and reach of football). Indeed, the fact that every University in America would welcome a great football program is evidence of this. Whether Athletic Directors or College Presidents realize it or not, nothing can top the power of sports to unify a diverse group of people.
The story behind the movie, Invictus, is even better evidence of this. Nelson Mandela apparently understood the power of sport to unify and capitalized on it with the providential success of the South African Rugby team. Somehow many historical class and race struggles melted away (not perfectly, but at least at a greater rate) as the South African people joined their new President to cheer on the Springboks as they won the Rugby World Cup. Whether you have seen the movie or not, get the book (Playing the Enemy by John Carlin
All that being said, we know that usually, only successful teams carry this power of unification. A losing team usually does not serve the community nearly as well. After all, the only unity that results from losing is the one where the community unites to call for the firing of the Head Coach! And naturally, that isn’t the unity we are pursuing. Excellence is obviously a big key. Penn State football doesn’t serve to unify the university community and many other surrounding communities simply because it is there, but because the team is historically good. So also the South African rugby team didn’t serve to unify the country simply by competing, but by winning. Sure, the support may still be there (at times and in some respects), but athletic excellence is the key.
This point is particularly close to my heart. For from High School on up, my most enjoyable experiences as a competitor have been the ones where I instinctively understood that I was playing not simply for myself and my team, but for the blessing of a community. You play not simply to play, but to unify. For you go out on the court with the corporate name of the community on your chest. You seek greatness not simply for yourself, but for the joy of everyone involved. Your pursuit of athletic excellence is a service. God is at work through you, bringing blessing and pleasure to others through your athletic excellence.
When rightfully understood and embraced, I am convinced that there are few greater joys. Indeed, I believe that when everyone involved (fans, coaches, players, etc.) understands all of this, the joy of the entire community cannot help but increase. For when I as a competitor or coach really believe that my job is to serve others by pursuing greatness, I can do so with a much greater purity and zeal. And when the community at large knows that I am pursuing greatness for their good as well as my own, a sweet unity cannot help but evolve, provided of course that I can actually serve them by performing well.
Communities instinctively hate the player or coach that is clearly seeking greatness for his own glorification or career advancement. Why? Because he is serving only himself. He is not seeking the biblical ideal of Shalom-the peace, prosperity and well-being of everyone involved- but instead, disrupting it. His pursuit of excellence is a sinful pursuit as it centers only upon himself. Rather than unity, he brings discord. He inspires only a sinful response. Sports communities are right to run such a man out of town. Service is the key. God works best through (and usually blesses most) the pursuit of excellence that seeks to serve.
Can you imagine if just one community – from the coaches and players and ball boys to the people in the top row – understood and embraced the biblical ideals I have set forth in my first three points? Excellence, service, unity and joy to the glory of God? It would be a sports’ heaven. Or at least a taste of the real Heaven to come. But that is for point number four. And point number four is for tomorrow. All I can say now is that whether you are an athlete or not, I hope you see that the pursuit of athletic excellence doesn’t have to compete with love for others and the glory of God. Instead, let those two truths kiss! Seek to honor the Lord and serve others by becoming the best you can be.
Sports and Competition in the Original Design? Absolutely
Posted by: | CommentsOur questions are: Why and how should a Christian pursue athletic greatness? Or how can I justify my drive to become the best athlete I can be? We begin today with point number one.
A Christian can joyfully pursue athletic greatness because sports and competition fit into the very good of God’s original design.
Soon after putting my faith in Christ, I started a Bible study group that met once a week. We called it the Jesus Christ Discussion (or JCD), because I wanted it to unashamedly focus on Jesus. We didn’t really study the Word in a systematic way (yes, big mistake I know), but instead, sought answers to whatever questions people raised (and there were many).
When I look back on those weekly meetings, I realize that I was completely unable to answer a lot of legitimate questions because of one main fault: I did not understand the storyline of Scripture. Sure, I knew some things about the Bible. All the stories, most of the main teachings, but if you had asked me to explain to you how the Bible fits together into one coherent story, I would have had no clue. I probably wouldn’t have told you that, sadly, but I really would have been lost.
I realize now that when it comes to the topic of sports and competition (and a host of other topics), it is vital to understand the basic outline of the Bible. After all, you won’t find Paul or Jesus speaking specifically about sport. The answers may be there, but they can only be found when you understand the big story. Or at least the big outline of the story. In its most simplest form, the Bible’s outline runs like this: Creation, Fall, Redemption.
And it is especially in the first part of the outline that we find the necessary fuel to support my first assertion. For when we look at the creation accounts in Genesis 1-2, we find a very good God designing, in His words, a good creation and putting a very good man and woman in charge.
“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping things that creeps on the earth.’
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth…And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day” (Genesis 1:26-28, 31).
The interesting thing about this creation account, and the very important point related to our discussion of sport, is the simple reality that according to the Bible, God wasn’t done with His creative work after the first six days.
That may come as a surprise statement to some, but the reality is actually quite plain. Our good Creator fashioned us as His image-bearers to continue His creative work in the world. He created a paradise, but not the sort of paradise we too often (and misguidedly) daydream about today – you know, the place where we lay around and do nothing. Instead, He placed us in a perfect creation and told us to creatively and diligently bring out all the potential in that creation. In essence, He told us to get to work for our good and His glory.
Genesis 2:15 tells us, ‘The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.’ So God created man to garden His creation. But as any good gardener knows, man was not supposed to simply maintain the garden status quo (keeping everything the same), but instead, to maximize the potential of the garden for bearing fruit and everything else. Not only that, and this is very important for us, but as man was a part of the created order himself, his calling to develop the earth’s potential included developing his own potential, including His potential to create and participate in sport.
All that is a lot truth stuffed into blog-abbreviated form, but I do think it is faithful to the story of Scripture and more than applicable to anyone concerned with pursuing excellence in sport (or excellence in anything for that matter). For when we look at the very beginning of creation, we find that mankind had the freedom and power, indeed, the very blessing of a loving God, to develop and organize various kinds of games for his own joy and God’s own glory. Though it might not seem plain on the surface, sports and competition definitely do fit into the very good of God’s design.
Is there more to it than that? Of course, but I have limited myself to six points and isn’t it obvious that this is a big one? For we all know that sports (at least most of them) are good things, but this gives a foundational explanation as to why. And if you are in pursuit of athletic excellence, I can’t help but think that you will join me in giving thanks for such good news.
Great Quote on Work and the Christian
Posted by: | CommentsI will be sure to get my second group of observations concerning the OTL piece up soon. Until then, here is a great (and needed) quote from Dorothy Sayers. I am not sure who originally posted this quote, but I saw it at both my man Larry Lazarus’ blog and at Justin Taylor’s.
The Church’s approach to an intelligent carpenter is usually confined to exhorting him not to be drunk and disorderly in his leisure hours, and to come to church on Sundays. What the Church should be telling him is this: that the very first demand that his religion makes upon him is that he should make good tables.
. . . Let the Church remember this: that every maker and worker is called to serve God in his profession or trade—not outside of it. The Apostles complained rightly when they said it was not meant they should leave the word of God and serve tables; their vocation was to preach the word. But the person whose vocation it is to prepare the meals beautifully might with equal justice protest: It is not meant for us to leave the service of our tables to preach the word.
The official Church wastes time and energy, and moreover, commits sacrilege, in demanding that secular workers should neglect their proper vocation in order to do Christian work—by which she means ecclesiastical work. The only Christian work is good work well done. Let the Church see to it that the workers are Christian people and do their work well, as to God: then all the work will be Christian work, whether it is Church embroidery or sewage-farming.
