Rock Chalk Jayhawk

March Madness

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Stanford v TexasMarch Madness is an annual event that sports fans look forward to each year.  I would imagine that more TV sets are flashing images of slam dunks than they are of Duck Dynasty.

The Big 12 entered the tournament with high expectations and much optimism; however, by the end of the first round reality had struck.  The University of Texas, Baylor, Oklahoma State, and Iowa State University had suffered defeat and have been sidelined for the rest of the tournament.  The youthful enthusiasm and hard work of their players was outmatched by the effort of their opponents.

Three teams from the Big 12 live to fight another day.  Kansas University, Oklahoma University, and feisty West Virginia move forward into round two.

Of these three, the Rock-Chalk-Jayhawks of KU have one of the more interesting matchups.  The regular season Big 12 champs will face the Wichita State University from the Missouri Valley.  This is a game that many from the state of Kansas have been asking for since Greg Marshall placed his winning brand on the WSU program.

Basketball, like other sports, can have a long-lasting impact on the lives of those who have played the game.  Players benefit from both the positive influence of coaches and teammates, and the discipline they have learned.

There is another benefit to sports, and it’s seen in the ministry of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.  This group uses sports as an arena to teach their four core values:

  • Integrity: A Christ-like wholeness that is to be demonstrated privately, and publicly. (Proverbs 11:3).
  • Serving: A life that reflects the servant’s heart of Jesus (John 13:1-7).
  • Teamwork: A unity in all of our relationships that is possible through Christ (Philippians 2:1-54).
  • Excellence: A life that honors and glorifies God in all we do (Colossians 3:23-24)

When you set down in front of your TV to watch your favorite team, give some thought to these four core values.  During the timeouts or commercials, examine your life to see if these values are at the core of your life.

A Silhouette of Truth

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61336241Like many other sports fans across the USA, my TV has been dominated by ESPN and college basketball. As I was watching to see where and when KU and WSU would play, I remembered a quote by John Wooden: “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.”

Wooden’s words remind me of the self-portrait Paul painted in Philippians:  “If it were right to have such confidence, I could certainly have it, and if any of these men thinks he has grounds for such confidence I can assure him I have more. I was born a true Jew, I was circumcised on the eighth day, I was a member of the tribe of Benjamin, I was in fact a full-blooded Jew. As far as keeping the Law is concerned I was a Pharisee, and you can judge my enthusiasm for the Jewish faith by my active persecution of the Church. As far as the Law’s righteousness is concerned, I don’t think anyone could have found fault with me (Philippians 3:4-6).”

As a Pharisee Paul thought he knew it all, but when he met Jesus he underwent a radical change:  “But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of Him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them filth, so that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ—the righteousness from God based on faith.  My goal is to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead (Philippians 3:7-11).”

Let me paraphrase the verses above in just a few words:  “I got rid of my worthless-self-righteous-know-it-all attitude, so I could know Jesus.”

Stephen Covey said that, “In the last analysis, what we are communicates far more eloquently than anything we say or do.”  The “what-we-are” communication of Paul, was the harsh restrictive, and punitive mindset of the Old Testament.  Paul knew the nitty-gritty essence of what it took to be a Pharisee, but he didn’t have an itty-bitty speck of “what-we-are” grace. Paul was a know-it-all theologian, and at his core, he would abhor the grace-themed principles of Christianity.

Paul’s pace was slowed on the Damascus Road, when he had a personal encounter with Jesus. Up to this point in his life, Paul had tried to find fullness in a silhouette of truth. When he met the Way, the Truth, and the Life, Paul couldn’t ignore His majestic mercy and the grace galore that Jesus offers.

The arrogance of what Paul was, was quickly overshadowed by the eloquence of what he became. He became a Christian of significance because he was not content to just talk-it-up.  He knew he needed to live-it-out.

The Covey quote I shared earlier seems to be based on the teaching of John: “Let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”  If “what we are” determines the effectiveness of what we say, how influential is your life?