Sports Spectrum

As the NFL season kicked off in full on Sunday, young quarterbacks began the process of on-the-job training. Rookies Matthew Stafford (Lions) and Mark Sanchez (Jets), along with newly named Browns starter Brady Quinn began the long learning curve that involves moments of success, lots of bumps and bruises, myriads of situational decision-making opportunities, and the pain of carrying as much of the weight of expectations as any position in any sport in the world. The task of learning how to be an NFL quarterback is like the journey of a thousand miles—it begins with a first halting step. Along the road of that journey will be lots of aches and pains, and times of serious struggles. Without all those ingredients, however, Tom Brady never becomes Tom Brady. Donovan McNabb never becomes Donovan McNabb. Peyton Manning never becomes Peyton Manning. Without the struggles, the goals of success cannot be achieved. It is the kind of learning that only comes the hard way.

As followers of Christ, we also understand that struggle is a part of life in the world outside of football. In the Bible’s oldest book, the ancient patriarch Job wrote, “Man, who is born of woman, is short-lived and full of turmoil” (Job 14:1). “Full of turmoil” doesn’t sound like fun. It does, however, sound like the hard way. That is where life is lived, and that is where life is learned. In the crucible of troubles, life’s greatest lessons take root and equip us for days to come, and the challenges that those days will present. And that is the key—without the turmoil of today we will never learn how to handle the trials of tomorrow. The preparation is not easy, but it is worth it. For, at the end of the day, it seems that the only way to learn how to live successfully in a hard world is through the hard lessons of life—learned the hard way. Thankfully, our God promises to walk us every step of that hard way, and the reliability of His presence may be the very best thing we can ever learn along the way.

Bill Crowder, Sport Spectrum Chaplain

Categories: National Football League