I don’t want my Genesis meditations to get ahead of your readings if you’re following our Pentateuch Reading Plan, so let’s pause for some lessons from the world of sports.
The first is from Georgia’s complete domination of TCU in the college championship on January 9. 65 – 7 if you missed it. No typo: Georgia 65, TCU 7. It’s always instructive to hear what the coach attributed his team’s greatness to:
Coach Kirby Smart listed Georgia’s values:
- Hard work
- No entitlement
- Humility
- Connection
All of those will preach!
When asked before the game what his strategy was, Kirby said, “Aggression. We intend to go after them.” And they did. Maybe we could learn something:
This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels. (Ephesians 6.12, MSG)
The second lesson comes from the NFL wildcard playoff game between the Los Angeles Chargers (formerly the San Diego Chargers) and the Jacksonville Jaguars on January 14. I have a special interest in the Jaguars since their second-year quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, piloted Clemson to the national championship after the 2018 season. In that game, leading Alabama 31 – 16 at halftime (Clemson went on to win 44 – 16), Clemson coach Dabo Swinney responded to a reporter:
Ain’t nothin’ less important than the halftime score.
Anyway, back to the Chargers/Jaguars game, the Chargers were ahead 27 – 0 late in the second quarter. Trevor had thrown four interceptions. However, the Jaguars won the game 31 – 30. Trevor said in the post-game interview:
[This is] what belief can do and to see when a team believes in each other what you can accomplish.
He no doubt also believed, “Ain’t nothing less important than the halftime score.”
But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3.13, 14, NIV)