Basketball, T-ball, And An Important Life Lesson

I have two young boys. My oldest loves to play basketball and my youngest is just about to play his first year of T-ball. I got a bit tickled when I took my youngest to sign up for T-ball and his T-ball tryout resembled a local little league version of the NFL combine. Like any dad, I would like to see them do good in whatever they do. That being said, I could really careless if they prove to be great athletes. If they listen to the coaches, respect others, and give a hundred percent on the field that's really all that matters to me. I never want either of my children to equate success in sports or any other field for that matter, as the standard that wins their dad's approval or acceptance.

I remember when both of my boys were born. They needed to do nothing to capture my heart. When my wife was pregnant with our first child, she asked me if I thought when he was born if we would just sit around and stare at him all the time. After he was born I caught myself repeatedly standing by the crib and just staring at him while he slept. I did the same with our second boy. Naturally, as they have grown, there are certain expectations and responsibilities that have come with age. However, they still need to do nothing to capture my heart. If my boys grow up and play in the NBA or Major League Baseball that would be great. Yet, while the world would see them as pro-athletes, I would still see them as sons who need to do nothing to capture my heart. I would hope they would grow to understand that their identity was not tied to their skills, gifts, or abilities. I would hope that they would grow up to understand that what they do is always secondary to who they are.

God is our Heavenly Father. Our acceptance into His family is not based on merit, ability, gifts, or works. We are sons and daughters of the Creator of the Universe. Our identity should not be found in anything but that truth. We need not do anything to capture His heart. The grace of God is not perverted or tainted with this world's form of performance acceptance. Like a loving father, He loves us at our worst and loves us at our best. He's not embarrassed by our performance nor is He impressed by it. He longs for us to rest in the truth that we are His sons and daughters. When we find our identity in our gifts, abilities, or performance then we have really made an idol out of those things. I pastor a church, but that's not who I am. I am a son of God and what I do is secondary to that truth. If I were to stop pastoring, my position of son remains unchanged. If I were a professional athlete, though my bank account may enjoy a nice increase, who I am would remain unchanged.

Knowing who we are results in true freedom. When I understand who I am, it then becomes unnecessary to prove anything to anyone, including myself. However, if I struggle to understand who I truly am, my life will be consumed with a need to perform in an effort to prove to everyone who I am, especially myself. I can not be truly free until I understand who I truly am.

If my sons miss every shot they take or miss every time they swing the bat, I'm as good with that as I would be if they make every shot they take and knock it over the fence every time they swing the bat. As long as they grow up to understand that their performance has no bearing on their positions as my sons and my acceptance and approval of them. If they'll understand that, then they'll be free to shoot and swing for the fences. And in that freedom, I think they'll get to experience what should be the number one rule in sports and in life....enjoy the journey and have a blast!

I Thought I Had Ups

This week my 7 year old challenged me to a slam dunk contest. When he did, my mind went back to the day when I soared through the air like Michael Jordan. Ok, so maybe Michael Jordan is a stretch and the fact is that any dunking I did back in the day was on a 7 or 8 foot goal. That being said, I do remember having some game. While Nike never came knocking on my door, it seems like I remember at least being able to move without feeling as though my feet were glued to the floor.

Now, being 43 years old, and having a challenge thrown down by my 7 year old, I was determined to lace up the shoes and to show him some old school moves. Lowering the goal to 7 feet, I was confident I was going to impress him. By the way, just so you don't get the idea that my kid is a giant, he has a small goal that he would be doing his dunks on not the 7 foot one. As we showed our stuff, I couldn't believe that at 7 feet, I actually missed some dunks. I figure with my 5'-10 1/2" frame and my long arms, it is only necessary to catch 1 or 2 inches of air to slam on a 7 foot goal. I'm guessing that apparently on several attempts the air beneath my feet was less than the required 1 to 2 inches, since I came up short.

While my son dazzled me with his fancy moves, I can assure you nobody was dazzled by my pathetic attempts. I was able to slam a few home, to save complete humiliation, but even my 4 year old appeared to have more ups than me. I think the lowest point of the contest came when out of a possible score of 50 my son gave one of my dunks a 36. If you know anything about the slam dunk contest, below 40 completely stinks and trust me, my boy knows that. To be honest, I thought the dunk deserved more like a 20, I'm just thinking he was being nice to his dad.

As I'm writing this, I have about 10 minutes left before I hit the court with my two boys for a little two on one. And while I have to work and have to take care of all the responsibilities that come with being a pastor, a husband, and dad, I must admit this is one thing I try to place a priority on. No, I don't always do it right and yes, there are times my boys take a back seat to all the other stuff. But, thank God for those times I get it right.

I guess what I'm trying to say is I'll take the 36s on my dunks. I'll take those moments when my skills feel like they have got up and went. I'll take those moments when I feel like my shoes are glued to the ground. I'll take those sore knees and other aches the day after. I'll take every loss on the chin. I'll walk through it all if it means that I get to spend time with two of my best friends.

I could go on and on, but my 10 minutes is up and I've got a couple basketball players warming up on the court ready to take on their dad. Time for "Air Jordan" (that's my nickname) to lace em up and show these youngsters how to play this game. They're going down, today! Oh, yeah they are going down!

Missed Free Throws And A Perfect God

While watching the Lakers and Magic last night I was once again reminded of man's constant battle with imperfection. Missed free-throws down the stretch, turnovers, missed shots, blown defensive assignments, and blown calls by the officials. How many times have you been watching a sporting event in which the outcome is more a result of the losing teams lack of execution rather than the winning teams execution? It happens all the time.

We humans as good as we get, still aren't all that good. We sit around comparing talents, skills, and abilities and yet our best falls far short of perfection. In baseball we call a man great if he can hit .400, yet that means he gets an out 6 out of 10 times he steps up to the plate. Kobe Bryant who has become known as "the closer," has made 14 game winning shots in the last 5 years. But his 56 missed game winners seems to indicate the need of another nick-name. Here's the point, because we aren't perfect we sit around celebrating man's attempt at being less imperfect than the other guy. In the end, our best is still quite pathetic when compared to perfection.

I wonder if God chuckles at what we consider great. Think about it. While we sit around toasting our success, He keeps all the planets in orbit. He paints yet another sunset sky. He kicks back on His throne and props His legs up on his footstool called earth. I'm thinking he does indeed chuckle at our attempts at greatness.

God is perfect. Perfect in all that He is and perfect in all that He does. Scripture tells us that He is incapable of being tainted by anything or anyone. He is pure and incorruptible. His greatness is off the charts. While we strive to better ourselves, He can get no better. He is, always has been, and always will be at the top of his game. His performance suffers no slumps, ruts, or inconsistencies. He is who He was and will always be who He is. He never changes and He never waivers. He is perfection personified.

It's not wrong to celebrate mankind's achievements. What's important is that we keep things in proper perspective. So, next time you find yourself celebrating man's imperfect achievements, just remember who's achievements can never be matched.