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| Learning From Athlete's Personal Failures |
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2:5 An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.
9:27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. I Corinthians 9:27 NIV
Living in the heart of SEC football country we talk football year around. When we should be talking baseball, or NBA playoffs, instead we are talking about spring practices and scheduling. For an SEC football fan August can not come soon enough.
Just this last week I was reminded of yet another young man who had all kinds of potential seemingly to throw it all away because of a character flaw within himself. Ryan Periloux (Pair-a-lou) highly touted quarterback and heir apparent to the starting quarterback position for the defending national champion LSU Tigers was kicked off the team this past week by Head Coach Les Miles. Although details are not released, Periloux failed a drug test. This was reportedly Ryan's "3rd strike."' Periloux had been in trouble before and has been suspended previously from the team, but evidently the coach felt like enough is enough despite the tremendous potiental that was within Ryan Perlioux. This is not an uncommon event as Charles Elder a new recruit for the University of Alabama held a fellow student up at gun point and robbed him for less than $50.00. As I think through history there are those that did not "compete according to the rules" and did not "beat their body into subjection" and therefore they became disqualified.
Mike Tyson for heavy weight champion remember him? Bit Evander Holyfield's ear. Disqualified.
Art Schliester QB for The Ohio State Buckeyes found himself in prision for gambling.
Pete Rose aruguably the greatest hitter in baseball disqualified from the Hall of Fame for gambling on a game while he was coaching.
Rosey Ruiz who competed in the Boston Marathon back in the 1980s was thought to win out of nowhere when she actually took the subway and finished in record time!
Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens possibly the best hitter and pitcher of their generation, no matter if they are proven innocent or guilty will always be linked to steriod and performance enhancing drugs. They may be disqualified to enter the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.
Of course the list could go on and on, but there is a point to all of this even if you are not a sports fan and are bored by all of this up to this point.
Our spirtual lives can be compared to that of an athlete. As Christians we are all striving for the goal of eternal life, and hearing our Savior and Lord say to us, "Well done, my good and faithful servant." The apostle Paul said, "We strive to obtain an incorruptible crown, whereas the atheletes of his day would strive to win a perishable crown." Unfortunately, we are much like Ryan Periloux blessed with all kinds of God given potential. Some us of could be used greatly by God to reach people for Christ, or to touch lives and edify the precious saints of God, yet because of our own personal lack of self disciplne we disqualify ourselves.
How many Christian leaders have we seen fall into temptation? How many Christian leaders have we seen with a character flaw that went unchecked only to bring that leader to ruin? One of the saddest things that I have seen in my first 40 years of life is those who start well, but somehow, quit, get side tracked, get entangled in the affairs of this world and wind up a very disappointing Christian indeed.
Pleae don't throw away your glorious future like these athlete's mentioned above. Fight the good fight of faith. Do not grow weary in well doing. Do not buckle under the pressure of temptation, for God always makes a way to escape. Do not allow the enemy to sow seeds of doubt into your life, lift up that shield of faith and overcome the Devil by the blood of the lamb and the word of your testimony.
I am going to leave you with a few suggestions that will enable you to compete according to the rules and finsih this Christian life race as a winner.
1. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Hebrews 12:2
2. Set your mind on things above. Colossians 3:2
3. Do not get involved in the affairs of this world. II Timothy 2:3.
4. Walk in / be filled with the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:17 Ephesians 5:18
5. Pray in the Holy Spirit. Eph 6:18
6. Live by faith in God and what He has said in His word. Roms 1:17 & II Cor 5:7
7. Be faithful in all things. I Cor 4:2
8. Be accountable fellowship with other believers. Hebrews 10:25
9. Humbly recieve the Word of God do not rebel against it. James 1:21
10. Repent/ turn away from all your sin. Hebrews 12:1, James 1:21
11. Apply the Bible to your life. James 1:22
12. Submit yourself to God and resist the Devil. James 4:7
I encourage you to look up these verses, study them, memorize them, make them part of your thinking, and they will help you stay on course and not wind up another wonderfully talented, gifted, person who could have meant so much to the Kingdom of God but instead threw it all away, because they disqualfied themselves because they did not compete according to the rules and did not train themselves accordingly.
God Bless,
I love y'all. |
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| Todd, great post! I've always said, far greater men than I have fallen. Therefore, I try to walk and talk with the greatest care. Funny, our pastor used this scripture today as well! |
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I THINK THAT RYAN PERILOU'S PROBLEM WAS THAT HE WAS WANTING TO GO TO ALABAMA AND PLAY FOR NICK SABAN !! HOWEVER NICK DOES AN EXTENSIVE BACKGROUND CHECK ON ALL OF HIS POTENTIAL PLAYERS, AND HE SAW OR HE WAS INFORMED ABOUT WHAT WAS GOING ON WITH RYAN FROM THE START. THEY DON'T PAY SABAN 4 MILLION A YEAR FOR NOTHING. I AM NOT JUST SAYING THIS BECAUSE I AM A BAMA FAN, BUT SABAN IS PROBABLY THE ONLY COACH THAT TRUELY EARNS HIS MONEY. HE BASICALLY TELLS HIS SCOUTS THE PLAYERS HE WANTS, AND THEY (OR SABAN HIMSELF) GOES AND GETS THEM. IN HIS HOME HE HAS A MOVIE THEATER AND WHEN HE IS OFF, ALL HE DOES IS WATCH TAPES, AND CALLS ANYONE THAT HE CAN TO CHECK OUT THE PLAYERS THAT HE MAY WANT TO GO AFTER TO PLAY FOR BAMA.
A LOT OF PEOPLE MAY NOT KNOW THIS, BUT HE ONCE TURNED DOWN A DINNER INVITE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. TO VIEW TAPES FOR AN UPCOMING GAME.
IF SABAN HAD BEEN THE COACH WHEN ELDER WAS DRAFTED, THAT ROBBERY WOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED, BECAUSE HE NEVER WOULD HAVE DRAFTED ELDER IN THE FIRST PLACE AND RISK ANY SET BACK FOR THE TIDE . I THINK THAT ELDER WAS ALREADY COMMITTED TO BAMA RIGHT BEFORE SHULA WAS LET GO, AND SABAN BEING THE HONORABLE COACH THAT HE IS HONORED ALL THE PLAYERS THAT WERE SIGNED BEFORE HE BECAME HEAD COACH.
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| We all fall short of the glory of God. Thankfully, to the humble and contrite heart God's mercy abounds. |
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Todd, I love football....how about some more football metaphors!
I see you are an Auburn fan. Are they going to stick with Tuberville? (Have they fired him yet?) I was surprised when they fired Pat Dye. He seemed like a great coach. I was a Syracuse fan when they played Auburn in the Sugar Bowl....you know, the infamous tie ballgame. So why did Dye go for the tie? hehe...that question will forever plague him! |
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| Vincent: How true you are that God's mercy is greater than any of our sins. Blessed is the man that falls 7 times but gets back up again. The good thing for this particular player he is still young and can use this mistake in his life to learn from it and still be sucessful. This is true of any of us, mistakes do not make us failures, quitting and giving up, and constantly repeating bad behavior is what makes us failures. |
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| Jimmy, No doubt Nick Saban is a great coach. If Periloux sits out a year he could play for the Tide who needs a QB bad! As for Elder, it is very sad and no matter if we do all the research on someone, they still have the ability to surprise us. How many times did you think you knew a person only to think: "Where did that come from?" As for Alabama, I hope he doesn't run that team into the ground like he did for Miami Dolphins. |
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Mike: Yes we are sticking with Tubby. He has done a great job and has one of the best winning percentages of any coach. This has been helped by playing Alabama High School in Tuscaloosa but where we have won 6 in row! Seriously, though I think the knock on Tubby is that we just don't take this thing to the next level. Auburn fans so want a National Championship and when our rivals get them like Florida, LSU, Tennesee and yes even Alabama we feel unfulfilled.
As for Pat Dye arond here we say Tie or Dye. Haven't really understood playing for the tie, but I suppose it is better than a loss. If there is a demand for more athletic analogy lessons I will be glad to write them. |
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| Cindy: Thanks...hope it wasn't too offensive :) |
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| Football...baseball... boxing !!!! I know nothing about them and didn't want to know..... until you threw in the "God" stuff. :0) Wow, I actually see sports in a different way now. Seriously Brother Todd thank you so much. Sometimes I forget which crown I should be going after, with all the distractions in life my eyes get pulled away, at times, from the real prize. Even when I win a "perishable" crown it means nothing and I feel nothing...except sorrow that I wasted so much time trying to get it. Thanks for the reminder. |
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| Thanks Robin glad to hear it! |
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Lyn |
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May 05, 2008 at 4:30pm |
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| You go Jimmy.....my sweet hubby with all your Bama knowledge, ROLL TIDE ROLL...oh yeah good read BROTHER Todd......Lyn |
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| Hehehehe!!!!!! Love being in the SEC, LOLOLOLOL |
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BROTHER TODD,
YOU KNOW THAT I STILL LOVE YOU !! I TELL YOU THE TRUTH,YOU AND SAM COOLEY
MUST BE BROTHER'S IN THE FLESH FOR REAL !!! I AM GOING TO TALK TO PAT AT CHURCH AND SEE IF I AM RIGHT !!!!
ROLLLLLLLLLLLLL TIDEEEEEEEEEEEEEE ROLLLLLLLLLLL !! B.F.L. !! S.Y.S !! JIMMY |
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great post!!!
I enjoyed the read, follow sports as I have 3 men ( hubby & 2 sons) in my life who r sports addicts LOL
I know I traveld the wrong path for many ears looking & searching.
When I finally humbled myself and let Him in MAN did life take on a whole new meaning!!!
Makes that brass ring so much easier to get!
Thanks & God Bless |
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