November 11, 2019 - We Have To Own It!

As I was looking through ESPN’s website today there were a couple of articles with people questioning if coaches should be fired… when a team is losing, the first thing that people that tend to be blamed are coaches. At times it is true that a coach is doing poorly, but sometimes it is simply that players are not performing up to par and a poor representation of their coaching…


I loved the response that Marcus Morris Sr. had concerning the New York Knicks poor start to the NBA season… after stating that he understands the frustrations and that he thinks the coaches are doing a great job, he followed with a simple assessment about the players: “It’s all on us, and we have to own it!”


In Scripture and in history we see people making their judgements about who God is and what His character is like, based upon His “players.” As we approach the CHRISTmas season I often point out that one of the reasons the shepherds would have been scared when the angel appeared to them, is because God’s “players” (i.e. the priests) treated them so poorly. The correlation was that if the “coaches” felt that way about them then “ownership” must feel that way also…


All of that to remind us that as “players” we have a real responsibility in how we represent… how we “play the game”; it reflects on our God. We can tell people that they shouldn’t judge God by people, but the reality is that they do… in the words of Marcus Morris Sr., “…we have to own it!”


2 Corinthians 5:20 states: “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ…” God has chosen to use us as His representatives…


What is your life telling people about who God is? How does your life reflect His character? In this case I can assure you that it is never the “Coach” that is to blame!