I admit it: I love football. If you’re not a fan, don’t quit reading yet. Because whether you like the sport or not, there’s something we can all learn from a basic truth of the game.
When the season kicks off in September, it’s anybody’s game. Sure, there are favorites like the Patriots, Colts, Cowboys and last year’s champion Saints. But if the last 20 years of pro football have proven anything, it’s the fact that every year is a new season.
Even the worst teams have hope of a winning season. Last year, the Green Bay Packers finished 11-5 in the regular season and landed in the playoffs. They lost an overtime heartbreaker to Arizona, but it was still a vast improvement over the 2008 season when they went 6-10. Another playoff team, the Cincinnati Bengals, also turned a losing season around, going from 4-11 one year to 10-6 the next.
Here’s where football meets the Christian life: the principles true for turning around a losing season on the field parallel some of the principles necessary for turning things around in our lives.
From 1998 to 2002, the Dallas Cowboys had some difficulties. Three straight years of 5-11 records put the team in the basement. Coaches saw their careers begin and end in short time. Players cycled in and out. Uncertainty and unhappiness reigned. Despite being one of the top franchises in the NFL and despite the championship rings on many players’ and coaches’ fingers, the Cowboys felt like losers.
Jerry Jones, the owner of the team, said, “I realized since whatever we were doing wasn’t working, we needed to change — I needed to change.”
Long known for his ego, Jones found it difficult to admit his failure. “It’s hard to reach up there and say, ‘I’m doing things different,’ because it is admitting I was doing things wrong before. But the facts are, by bringing in Bill, I’m willing to stand in front of everybody and admit it.”
Bill, of course, was Bill Parcells, the man who led the New York Giants to two championships and helped turn the New England Patriots and the New York Jets from losers into winners. So what was Jerry Jones saying? He was laying down his pride to get help from an expert. He was giving up control to allow a proven champion to work on his team. The next year, the Cowboys went 10-6.
In our lives, we often discover that we are missing the mark in certain areas. We may be losing more battles than we are winning in our personal lives. Our marriage may be second-rate. Perhaps we are distracted by things happening “off the field” — meaningless or troublesome issues that really have no place in our lives. Whatever the cause, we find ourselves in a losing season.
As Christians, we can turn our losing season around quickly. But the first thing we must do is swallow our pride and admit that we have to start doing things differently. The Bible calls this “repentance”. It is simply admitting we were wrong and turning away from the things that are causing us defeat.
The next thing we must do is call on the expert. We must go with a proven winner and ask Him to make some changes in our lives. Jesus said, “I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in…” Here we have the ultimate coach standing outside our locker room door! This is the guy who wrote the playbook that is guaranteed to win and He wants to coach us, but we have to let Him in.
Finally, we must give up control. Jerry Jones not only put his pride on the altar, but he sacrificed one of his favorite players – running back Emmit Smith (who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.) But Parcells could see objectively that it was time for the Cowboys to move on in that area. If we truly want God to make changes in our lives, we must give him full control. It may require some emotionally difficult sacrifices. But God sees the whole picture. He knows how to make us winners. Like Jerry Jones, we need to back off, shut up and let go. Bill Parcells came in and turned the Cowboys around quickly. They went from losers to playoff contenders. That’s how quickly an expert can change things.
All of us have losing seasons. It’s a part of life. But we are not meant to stay there, repeating the same failures over and over. Are you tired of losing more battles than you win? Then admit your mistakes (confession), turn from your failed ways (repentance) and give God control (submission). When you do that, you’re ready for a new season – a winning one.
