One of my favorite things in the world is sports. I love playing sports. I love watching sports. I love talking about sports. Last night, I watched some of Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Now, I don’t like either team but if I have to choose, I am pulling for Lebron, I mean the Cavs. The game was close and the competition level was high, so I was glued at the end hoping that Lebron, I mean the Cavs, could hang onto the lead and ultimately get the victory.
But that didn’t happen….
There was a bad call…
There was a bonehead play…
There was a lack of effort…
….All leading to an overtime loss by the Cavs.
But in this final minutes, I saw actions by grown men that I did when I was a teenager with a highly competitive spirit and a hot head. I saw tempers flare, trash talk, and even some cheap shots. I remember the days when I would get mad during a game. I wasn’t a big trash talker but I have thrown my fair of cheap shots, which I am not proud of. I played hard, sometimes too hard where it crossed the line into being a dirty player. I wanted to win. But enough about me, let’s get back to the grown men getting paid millions of dollars to act like kids!
3 things I want to point out from these last few minutes that we can make a spiritual application to…
- You can’t let circumstances take you off course. – As some of the calls at the end of the game went the Warriors way, you could see the Cavs start to lose their will and desire to finish the game strong. In our Christian life, not everything will go our way. We may go through storms and trials. We may feel like the calls go against us. That is when we need to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves on and go forward and do more for Christ! Too often we fall and stay down. Too often we get sidetracked and end up off track. Too often we get our feelings hurt and hold onto that for too long. We need to finish strong! We need to keep pressing forward! We need to keep serving Christ no matter what happens! “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again…” Proverbs 24:15
- Only you can control your attitude. – Once players started getting frustrated with calls and bad plays, you started to see some tempers flare. Because of some of these temper flare-ups, there may be a player or two suspended. All because of a reaction to an action. I am all for playing hard and even getting mad that you are losing but you can’t get out of control, you can’t lose your head. You have to control your own spirit, your own attitude, your own emotions. When those circumstances don’t go our way, we can fly off the handle and in doing so we will hurt those around us. We have to guard our spirit in the Christian life so that Satan can’t bring discouragement and defeat into our life. Always remember that true joy is found in the Lord and in the things of the Lord. “He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.” Proverbs 25:28
- Always give everything you have. – As I watched overtime of Game 1, I noticed that the Cavs had given up, they had stopped trying. They let circumstances and the defeated attitude get in the way of playing the game. No matter what happens around us, we should always give everything we have in everything we do. Don’t just try to be the best you can be in serving God, but be the best in everything you can do. I know I have said it before and I will say it again, God blesses hard work no matter who you are or where you are. “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” Ecclesiastes 9:10
As we go through life, we should always be looking for spiritual applications to make ourselves a better Christian, no matter what we are doing.
STAY FOCUSED ON THE TASK AHEAD
ALWAYS REMEMBER TO HAVE A GOOD SPIRIT
WORK HARD ALL THE TIME
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Counted Faithful 