I never envisioned sitting in Haiti, working through a Beth
Moore Bible study on gentleness, and it reminding me of sports and
coaching. However, this one did. Teachability is crucial for gentleness. James 1:22 says “Do not merely listen to the
word, and so deceive yourself. Do what
it says.” Athletes do this all the
time. Often as an athlete we can get
caught up in giving an ear to the coach but then going on the court or field
and doing what we want. We can hear the
coach but don’t do what is asked of us.
Christians are not just people that say they believe in God or go to
church. A true believer confesses their
sins, hears the Lord’s word, and tries their best to do what it says. We will fail along the way but there is
redemption. We will lose games along the
way but have a much better chance of winning when we are all on the same page
and that’s the coach’s page.
Our willingness to be teachable relies heavily on our
teachers or coaches. When there is a
level of respect for that person we accept their ways but if we don’t respect
them we do not heed to their instructions.
I have been fortunate enough to have several great coaches in my
life. Coaches on athletic teams and life
coaches/teachers have been instrumental in making me who I am. My Christian faith strengthens when I respect
and fear the Lord. Without those, we
cannot implement the teachings and instructions.
In this study, we read the story of Balaam and his donkey in
Numbers 22. To recap, Balaam basically
wanted to do his own thing. God finally
tells him to go ahead do what you think is best. I remember when coaches would throw up their
hands and sit down on the bench, they were clearly saying, you are going to do
it your way, no matter what I say, so see how that works out for you. More often than not, the lead we had would
shrink or the deficit we had would grow.
At which point, a timeout would be called; we would circle up around the
coach and then try to get back on the same page. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it
didn’t. Balaam had to be instructed on
three different occasions. Three times
he went his own direction and something was placed in front of the donkey to
stop him. Three times he beat the donkey
when it stopped and then God opened the mouth of the donkey to speak to
Balaam.
God opposed Balaam because his path was a reckless one. God had grievances with Balaam because he
loved to do his own thing. The Bible
tells us that if Balaam would have continued his way that Balaam would have
been killed. As an athlete, when one
chooses to do their own thing, they kill the team. Balaam admitted his wrong doing and God
allowed him to continue on his journey but he could only speak the words God
gave him. Coaches, teachers, bosses do
this all the time. They continue to give
us playing time as long as we realize our ways are not their ways and we do as
they instruct. God does that with each
of us too. There is forgiveness if we
admit out wrong doings and decide to walk in his way and not our own.
God’s ways often seem difficult or harsh but then we have to
realize that Christ was the hand-picked king.
Coach’s way may not always seem like the right way, but he/she has been
chosen to lead and instruct. Proverbs
13:13 says “He who scorns instruction will pay for it, but he who respects
command is rewarded.”
