Parker commented on my post about the desire to be godly and it made me think of something that I have heard numerous times. Park gave an example of UFC fighters giving glory to God after their fights and the negative response that gets from alot of people.
Now that is not exactly my topic, but it made me think of it. I read the biography of Matt Hughes several months ago and thought it was a great read. In it he talks about his conversion to Christianity, which happened around 2004.
Since his conversion, he hasn't been the same Matt Hughes in the octagon. If you keep up, he has lost his last three fights. Some people would say that his Christianity has made him soft.
I know you have had coaches that believe that, as well as, teammates. What are your thoughts on this topic? Can you be a Christian and still be an elite athlete? I am talking top 5% percent in the history of your sport athlete.
I would love to hear some wisdom on this topic. In fact the coach at my former university is struggling with this very thing.
4 comments:
I'm sure Waino will fill up this topic so I'll be short. Check out the Jon Kitna video at the bottom of the home page in the video bar. He gets asked that exact question.
My pastor played in the NFL for 8 years and I asked him if anybody ever called him soft on the football field and he about slapped me silly!
In 2007 I battled this question personally and didn't turn that corner until the end of this last season. Waino had to baptize me a little and remind me how I have to enter the battlefield. As a youngster coming up I was a cocky confident kid with ridiculous swagger that was unmatched... Then through injuries and struggles I became a soft nibbling worrying baseball player. Praise be to God for showing me how I need to pitch and act on and off the field again. As Christian men we pitch for an audience of ONE and must glorify God on the baseball field, office, court etc. Can you do this and be a intense competitor and out work everyone? Absolutely!!! Read Psalm 18 and ask David if God wanted him to be soft on the battlefield? FRRRNT.
First, you must consider what determines "softness". If not throwing equipment and not cursing up a storm everytime I have a bad game makes me "soft" then I don't mind being the baby's butt of baseball. I think the number one problem with the "soft" accusation is the people calling us "soft". They are cowards. They aren't real men. Who determined that christian values such as self-control, kindness, goodness, peace, love, faithfulness, and patience make someone "soft" or a lesser man? It is so completely overlooked that these same christian values are what makes you a real man. Save me the "hard guy" front and you all know what i'm talking about. Save the party hard, smash homers, smash chicks, throw equipment, curse like a sailor, talk about how tough I am attitude. That's all I'm going to say for now because I want to share my favorite poem with you guys. Does that make me "soft"? This poem is perfect for this topic because Rudyard Kipling lays it down on what a real man looks like. Enjoy:
"IF"
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!
Christianity makes you soft?
Isaiah 43:7 “Everyone who is called by My name, whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes I have made him.” NKJV
1 Corinthians 10:31 “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” NKJV
God made us and He wants us to do everything to glorify Him and His word says this more than once (Colossians 3:23). Does God care about winning? I don’t think He likes losing or wants His people to be called losers but does He care about winning or losing?
Psalm 110:1 “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool’.” NKJV
2 Samuel “For you have armed me with strength for the battle; You have subdued under me those who rose against me.” NKJV
Proverbs 21:31 “The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory is of the Lord.” NIV
2 Corinthians 2:14 “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ…”
Well, given the scriptures, I think God likes victory and not only that He wants us to glorify Him with winning. King David (Terry’s ancestor) was not winning battles with a passive heart, he was fearless knowing that his God was in control. If God is driving our career then it is our job to fight and let the chips fall where they may knowing that God is getting the glory win or lose. Can you say that about yourself? We have to be careful that pride doesn’t creep in to our lives and make us pound our chest thinking we are doing something that is ultimately influencing the outcome, (remember Proverbs 21:31). God isn’t pleased when He gives us a big win and we don’t give Him the glory in every way, He also isn’t pleased when we lose and get angry thinking that life is over. Prepare hard and compete with vigor till the battle is over. If you’re reading this and you think I am talking about sports, you’re missing the point, this is about life and us men were made to compete in everything, think about it. Why do we get pumped for board games during holidays, why do we get so frustrated when our teams on TV lose? Yep, that’s what I’m talking about. Christians being soft is a common misconception that is a known tactic by the dude with the agenda who got tossed out of Heaven. Let me leave us with this scripture because now that we have hoped over this hurdle this other hurdle is now undoubtedly before us.
Deuteronomy 8:11 “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, …v13 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage … v17 then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’ And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth that He may establish His covenant which he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”
All praise and glory to God!
Anyone who says being a christian makes you weak doesnt know the true power that Christ alone can give you. I like the psalm 18 passage...and another that is almost identical is psalm 144. David is going off about how God gives him the power to crush his enemy like a walnut and turn them into sand. and when you read it you get the feeling this guy "aint skeered" of nothing in the world. Why you ask? Because David has put his complete faith in the lord and has been delivered from some pretty impossible odds through God before. Another of my favorites is Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." He is with us WHEREVER we go. If we are in the octagon, on the mound, in the outfield, at the grocery store, driving a car....EVERYWHERE. We cant escape his infinite love, and we cannot escape his infinite power. Jesus is called meek...not weak. definition for meek is humbly patient or docile...not flimsy and scared. If matt hughes lost his last three it aint cuz God weakened him i can promise you that. We as professionals are called to be prepared for our livelyhood...whatever that is. God gives us the desire, the talent, the mind, and the platform. It is up to us to prepare for our jobs, and get the most out of what he's given us. When we're at work and we're completely trusting that Gods will is in action and that we have prepared ourselves mentally and physically for battle then who in the wide world would dare get in the way of GODS PROGRESS. Thats how i see it. I am a baseball player...when i step between those lines i am a God Warrior that is ready for all comers because of Gods strength... not mine. I cant outlift most of you on this site...cept hawk, but i dare you to try and out-compete me. Before i found Gods love i was a pansy on the mound, but i believe he has given me this platform for his purpose to make a difference in lives and for the kingdom. And i will not slight my God and come to the yard un-prepared. Weak...i would argue that a mental toughness comes with Jesus that a non-believer cant sniff. I would argue that a sense of wreckless abandon comes with a man who knows where he is heading for eternity...TAKE ME NOW LORD...I AM READY WHEN YOU CALL.
Lord, i pray that you would let non-believers look at us as strong, loving, Godly men that do not backdown when called weak. I pray that you would make us a light to shine on all the darkness of this world. I pray that you would touch the heart of the ones who are non-believers and lead them into your kingdom. In Jesus Christ's infinite name i pray
waino
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