Monday, February 4, 2013

February 4, 2013 - Super Sunday

Yesterday was Super Bowl Sunday and we witnessed the end to another NFL season. The crowning achievement for players is winning the Lombardi Trophy and putting a championship ring on the finger…

That led us yesterday in our Super Sunday church services to ask the question, “What is true success?” This fit in nicely with the challenges I have been giving the youth on Sunday nights to set the bar higher, to strive to achieve more, etc.

In the midst of preparing for yesterday’s services Pastor Joel invited a former Super Bowl champion (1992 Dallas Cowboys), Vinson Smith, to meet with the pastoral staff during the week to be interviewed about his experiences. Vinson agreed and gave some great on-camera answers that fed into great spiritual lessons…


Me and Vinson Smith
He talked of his love for Christ; his love for his mom; his joy in graduating college (which he ranked higher than winning the Super Bowl); his team’s work ethic and camaraderie; and yes the amazing feeling of winning the big game: all great and inspirational lessons.


Yet a statement he made off-camera greatly caught my attention and also made it into both Joel’s and my messages yesterday. When discussing his teammates he stated that winning the Super Bowl changed each player’s life. Then he hit the real attention grabber by stating that some of the changes were for the good but most for the bad. What most would consider “success” actually led to moral failure in many of his teammates. Maybe winning the Super Bowl was only a measure of football success and not necessarily a measure of success in life?

When Vinson mentioned the most amazing person he knew he talked of his mom, not of the great players he played beside (such as Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, etc.) He talked of a person that truly made a difference in his life and didn’t just win trophies with him. He talked of a person that was the reason he wanted “to grow up and be a man and be a good one.” He talked of a lady that he called his “greatest inspiration.” To me this lady sounds more like a life success…


Today I had the privilege of joining in the celebration of the life of my dear friend Rick Lewis’ mom, Marjie. She passed away this last Friday and I was honored to hear person after person account for a lady that loved the Lord; a lady that loved others; a lady that volunteered to help others; a lady that was a great wife and mother. To me this lady sounds like more like a life of success…

Just last night I encouraged a group of youth to contemplate how important the dash between the numbers on their tombstone will be; it represents a life… What will people say when we are gone?

The older I get the more I realize that success is not measured truly by bank accounts and trophies; but instead by loving God and loving others! (See Matthew 22:37-38)

The older I get the more I realize that the world’s idea of success or the lack of success can often be a distraction or a hindrance to honoring God. I want a life of balance. (See Proverbs 30:7-9)

And by the way - even if you could take it with you, the trophies/rings would just be melted down into pavement…



1 comment:

Inspector Clouseau said...

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