February 20, 2023 - NIL

Lately, my mind has circled around the new NIL world of college athletics… partially because it is talked about so much in the media, and mostly because my daughter, who is being recruited as a college athlete, is also being courted for potential NIL deals…

NIL stands for Name/Image/Likeness, and the rule basically says an athlete has the right to capitalize off of his/her name, image, and likeness. Yet in the midst of it all, I loved when Dabo Swinney had to say about the Clemson football program in a news conference: He stated that they were built on “God’s name, image, and likeness…” Likewise, InBounds Ministries is starting to use that terminology in our Taylor-Made Investment scholarships… BUT WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE?

Ephesians 5:1 states: “Therefore be imitators of God dear children.” (Ephesians 5:1)

An “imitator” is obviously one that wants to reflect a likeness… so what does that look like when fleshed out? Well, the Bible didn’t leave us hanging on that…

Simply put: “…walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.” (Ephesians 5:2)

It all starts with lives that are characterized by love… giving of oneself… being an offering and sacrifice…

When given our spiritual NIL command it demands we make others a priority… to the point of sacrifice in our lives. This made me think of a statement my wife heard that said something along the lines of… instead of telling people you don’t have time to help them, try spitting out the words “sorry, you are not a priority to me.” I think we would choke on those words, but if we would start being honest, maybe we would change our tune and start imitating our sacrificial Savior…