Putting practice into action
The soccer season is over...for me anyway.
Yesterday, I coached the last game of the season for our U4 soccer team. I'd love to tell you we scored the winning goal in the last few seconds and parents carried me off the field on their shoulders. I'd love to, but I can't. It didn't happen.
In fact, it, like almost all of our games this season, didn't go well at all. They don't keep score in our league (thank goodness), but if they did, it would have been a lot to a little. We didn't have the lot. Our kids tried hard, but we just didn't have the confidence to strike the ball and take on defenders. We were often short-handed. Short attention spans ruled the day.
To be honest, I spent most of the season frustrated. I talked and coached and demonstrated and talked some more. In practice the kids would do fine. In games, not so much. I spent more time yelling for kids to stop picking grass and stay out of the goal than I did high-fiving for big games and major accomplishments. And that was just my own kid.
I felt like a loser when all was said and done. We didn't have much success. I'm not sure the kids learned much. As much as I tried to teach them, I wonder how much really sunk in.
As I peeled my coach's shirt off for the last time, I wondered how often God feels the same way about us. On Sunday we look good. We have our Bible. We say all the right words. We do all the right things. On Monday, when we're actually competing, we shy away from defenders and lack the confidence to strike the ball. Often, he spends more time calling our name than beaming with pride at our choices.
Don't get me wrong. I don't think we earn salvation. Only through Jesus can we have a relationship with the triune God. However, we often play well on Sunday and not so well the rest of the week. I wonder how often God is frustrated over our performance.
Psalm 19:14 says may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart by pleasing to God. That's our everyday conversations at work or school. That's the thoughts in our heads when we're on the school bus or driving to work. Our words and our thoughts should be pleasing to God.
So often we say pleasing words in church. We watch our language. We're polite. We say the right things. We do the same thing with our thoughts. We think pleasant thoughts and dwell upon the Lord.
When we get home, we flip on the television, cell phone, iPod or computer and soon our thoughts and words aren't so wholesome. We often fail God when the game is afoot.
This isn't a post to make you feel bad. It is intended to make you think. If Sunday is our warm-up for Monday, how are you doing when the game is on the line?
Jesus calls us to go and make disciples. Are we? Or do we just do well in practice?
Yesterday, I coached the last game of the season for our U4 soccer team. I'd love to tell you we scored the winning goal in the last few seconds and parents carried me off the field on their shoulders. I'd love to, but I can't. It didn't happen.
In fact, it, like almost all of our games this season, didn't go well at all. They don't keep score in our league (thank goodness), but if they did, it would have been a lot to a little. We didn't have the lot. Our kids tried hard, but we just didn't have the confidence to strike the ball and take on defenders. We were often short-handed. Short attention spans ruled the day.
To be honest, I spent most of the season frustrated. I talked and coached and demonstrated and talked some more. In practice the kids would do fine. In games, not so much. I spent more time yelling for kids to stop picking grass and stay out of the goal than I did high-fiving for big games and major accomplishments. And that was just my own kid.
I felt like a loser when all was said and done. We didn't have much success. I'm not sure the kids learned much. As much as I tried to teach them, I wonder how much really sunk in.
As I peeled my coach's shirt off for the last time, I wondered how often God feels the same way about us. On Sunday we look good. We have our Bible. We say all the right words. We do all the right things. On Monday, when we're actually competing, we shy away from defenders and lack the confidence to strike the ball. Often, he spends more time calling our name than beaming with pride at our choices.
Don't get me wrong. I don't think we earn salvation. Only through Jesus can we have a relationship with the triune God. However, we often play well on Sunday and not so well the rest of the week. I wonder how often God is frustrated over our performance.
Psalm 19:14 says may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart by pleasing to God. That's our everyday conversations at work or school. That's the thoughts in our heads when we're on the school bus or driving to work. Our words and our thoughts should be pleasing to God.
So often we say pleasing words in church. We watch our language. We're polite. We say the right things. We do the same thing with our thoughts. We think pleasant thoughts and dwell upon the Lord.
When we get home, we flip on the television, cell phone, iPod or computer and soon our thoughts and words aren't so wholesome. We often fail God when the game is afoot.
This isn't a post to make you feel bad. It is intended to make you think. If Sunday is our warm-up for Monday, how are you doing when the game is on the line?
Jesus calls us to go and make disciples. Are we? Or do we just do well in practice?
Comments
Post a Comment