In October 2022, the Brooklyn Nets lost an NBA game to the Indiana Pacers. According to a news report, on 10 different occasions, Nets guard Kyrie Irving ignored the plays called by coach Steve Nash and ran his own plays. According to this same report, this was a team-wide problem. Coach Nash won only two of his seven games that season before he was fired. Eventually, Irving was traded to the Dallas Mavericks.

Genesis 11 tells of the post-flood world. The people, all of one language, settled together and decided to build a city. They said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky. Let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we will be scattered throughout the earth.” (Genesis 11:4) God came down and forced the people to separate by mixing up their languages. When Noah and his family had left the Ark, God told them twice to spread out and fill the earth. When the people tried to defy God and stay together, it backfired, and they were scattered by His hand.

Irving ignoring his coach led to disgruntlement, a parting of ways, and a bad start to a long NBA season. God wants us to obey and trust Him. Bad things can happen when we don’t listen to His Word or the Holy Spirit. Listening to Him could make a difference in someone coming to know Jesus. God’s knowledge and vision are way above our own. Let us all strive to be faithful to Him and His Word.