Friday, June 15, 2012

June 18, 2012 - No excuses! Let’s just get the job done!


OK I admit it – I am a LeBron James fan. I happen to think he is one of the greatest players to ever play the game. I don’t want to get into the argument of who is the greatest closer – I agree there are some guys that seem to like that moment more than LeBron. Yet no one has his team in position to win more than LJ does.

But I will say that from what I have seen I probably want Kevin Durant taking shots at the end of the game. That young man is phenomenal! He has a quiet confidence that simply loves to be in that moment. He is an incredible talent and I believe it comes from having an incredible attitude. He simply goes about his business…

(One interesting fact is that last year LJ and KD worked out together following their series losses to the Mavericks. They are both incredibly hard working individuals.)

Durant had one of my favorite quotes of all times following the Thunder’s game 2 loss to the Heat last night. On his final shot there was quite a bit of contact from LeBron. It was a pivotal moment in the attempted comeback by the Thunder – and according to who you are a fan of it was a horrible missed call or a good no-call…

Yet what it did was give Durant an available excuse for missing the shot. Now understand he had already scored 16 points in the quarter (showing why I would like having him at the end of games) and if I remember correctly had hit 7 straight shots. Yet when questioned about the contact he said this: "I missed the shot, I think I shot a good shot. That's a shot I shoot all the time. I just missed."

In a world where the norm is to blame the referees for every blown play; in a world where it is common place to scream that it was “unfair”; in a world of very few athletes that simply stand up and take responsibility for themselves; we see this young superstar showing incredible wisdom and restraint.

Yes I am a LeBron fan; but I am also a big Kevin Durant fan!

Now how does that relate to us? The excuse-making world is not confined to athletics. Our entire society seems to be looking for someone to blame about our shortcomings. The church in general is better at complaining about what everyone else is doing wrong to mess up society than we are at being light in the society. When are we going to step up and simply do our job without pointing and complaining about others?

Here are some great quotes I found on a site about the differences between successful and unsuccessful people (http://www.debtfreearmy.org/rich-thoughts-blogs/1038-12-differences-between-successful-and-unsuccessful-people):

·         Successful people make plans. . .unsuccessful people make excuses.
·         If you spend your life looking for an excuse. . .you’ll never find the time to find the answer to your problem.
·         If you’re good at making excuses. . .you’ll never be good at anything else.
·         Successful people are never thrown by obstacles to their success. . . unsuccessful people whine about how unfair things are.
·         People with excuses will never be remembered for what they did . . . or even what they could have done.

Great verses the site uses:

·         2 Thessalonians 3:10 in the Message Bible says: “Don't you remember the rule we had when we lived with you? "If you don't work, you don't eat." And now we're getting reports that a bunch of lazy good-for-nothings are taking advantage of you. This must not be tolerated. We command them to get to work immediately—no excuses, no arguments—and earn their own keep. Friends, don't slack off in doing your duty.”
·         Numbers 11:10 in the Message Bible says: “Moses heard the whining, all those families whining in front of their tents. God's anger blazed up. Moses saw that things were in a bad way.”

This week: No excuses! Let’s just get the job done!

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