Over the years I have used the analogy of dribbling the basketball on quite a few occasions… As a player and a coach, I often heard/taught the warnings of not over-dribbling… not wasting the dribble…
It was always a bad idea for a point guard to pick up his
dribble as soon as he came into the front court….
It was always a bad idea for a player to catch a pass and immediately start dribbling before having somewhere to go…
As I have been watching the NBA playoffs, it amazes me how long Nikola Jokic will spend dribbling the basketball. Most of the time my observation would be that a player doing that was “pounding the air out of the ball”… in other words taking the air out of the offense. It can appear that the play is stagnant, and that type of dribbling does often cause teammates to stand still… BUT NOT THE DENVER NUGGETS! They know that with every dribble of the basketball by Nikola, that he is allowing them to move to get open, or for the defender(s) guarding him to grow impatient and leave an opening for him to score. Every dribble… EVERY POUNDING OF THE BALL... IS WITH A PURPOSE... is with an eye on the goal!
One YouTuber that does impressions of players called him “slow and lazy.” Early scouting reports called him “unathletic” – with one report equating him to “bottom-tier athleticism.” Most believed him to be a long-shot to make it in the NBA…
The reality of being a good player is not found in one’s athleticism… in fact, I would suggest that sometimes athleticism allows a player to become wasteful with his movement because he feels he can turn it on whenever he needs… he figures he can use just a portion of his dribbles with intent to get to the goal. (Maybe we can call that a “dribbling tithe”) BUT being a good player is ultimately based upon production that helps the team. We don’t have a statistician counting how many times a player has dribbled the ball…
I would call Jokic “deliberate and frugal” --- he is “INVESTed” with every action… no wasted movement! With every bounce of the ball, he is surveying how to help his team get to the goal. You seldom see him celebrate personal accomplishments, but pumps the fist when the team achieves.
As I look at giving (of not only our finances but also our time) in the Scripture, I see a call to being “deliberate and frugal” -or- in an “INVESTment” model. We should “dribble” (spend our time and finances) with a team goal of increasing evangelism and discipleship (the Great Commission and Game Plan.)
Some will say they give when feel led or when their hearts feel moved… some teachers will say, “show me a mans checkbook and I’ll show you where his heart is.” BUT I think we tend to attack this problem incorrectly as “coaches” by thinking that the heart needs to be changed for giving to change. I think that is the opposite of how it happens… attention and allegiance to the game plan with lead to the heart following as results are obtained. It is not about how one feels, but about listening to the Coach! Has God told us (LED US) to give of our time and energy for the good of the team? I suggest we should be deliberate and frugal in doing so…
Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth…; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven… For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Notice that when we play the game for the right reasons, our hearts will fall in line! I guarantee that if you give to (INVEST in) to those in need, you will start to love those in need… Jesus didn’t say to give/INVEST where your heart is but instead to give/INVEST in the game plan and your heart will follow!
For some fun view: https://youtu.be/lWfuHmoV3cM
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