Attitude is Everything
“Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus.” -- Philippians 2:5
As a coach and a player, it can be a challenge to have the right attitude. Many times, we will say of a player, “He needs an attitude adjustment,” or “Her attitude stinks,” or especially, “If he had the right attitude, he could be a great player.”
Sometimes when we are experiencing winning, we can have a prideful attitude that is not pleasing to God. Sometimes we need to be humbled, and that humbling can be quite painful.
As a coach at the middle-school level, I have found that teaching young athletes to have the right attitude has become one of the most difficult parts of my job. We all see too many high-profile athletes on TV who are glorified as they display a prideful attitude. The “me-first, I’m great” attitude is a big negative that we all must battle.
In Philippians 2:5-11, we see where Jesus “emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant” and “humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death — even death on a cross. For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name.”
By following Jesus’ example and demonstrating the “team-first” concept, we may just find great success.
- How can we find the balance between being confident in our abilities and that of our team, and being too prideful?
- In what ways can you put your team’s success ahead of your own desires?
“Lord, thank You for the success You’ve given us. Help us remember to give the glory to You because You have blessed us with abilities and talents which we are to use for that purpose. Help us be walking examples for the young people You’ve given us to work with, and the teammates we have the opportunity to play alongside. Amen.”
