Recently I had a conversation with a coach from another sport that does not garner the same attention as football or basketball. The question at hand was him being flabbergasted at continual negative stories in the news about certain teams across these sports. The simple answer is the majority of programs and coaches at collegiate levels view athletes as transactions. A simple way to win and if they do not help in doing so, they simply become a byproduct.
It left me thinking. This at times becomes an issue in my walk with Christ. Is he simply a transaction in bad times? A simple ticket to ensure I do not see the wrath that would be if he did not die on the cross for my sins? Are my devotions just a check in the box? When the answer for both of these issues, is a genuine relationship. When you treat athletes as people. People who actually play the game and take shots or male passes and ultimately win the games. People who sacrifice, endure hardships, and are deserving of not just time at practice, but off the court or field, they trust you and will go to war with you. The easy result is winning. The same principles mirror our walk with the father. A genuine relationship leads to a strong foundation during any event in life. Knowing he is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow leads to knowing you are not just a transaction when days are gloomy. You automatically know who is in your corner when life begins a war. He becomes the strength in areas of weaknesses. An understanding of how to love, especially toward others so that the world, your family or friends, and in this specific instance athletes get to be treated like the Golden Rule. Is it really hard to not view everyone or every relationship as a simple transaction of only what you can get out of it?
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