We are going to close this week on the blog the way we have run for the past couple of days. We are going to allow the intersection of sports and our Christian walk teach us a little more about how we should live our lives as Christians. In this installment we will look at two young men who taught some powerful lessons.
While it is true that no one before the start of the third quarter in the national championship game knew of Tua Tagovailoa, they have heard of him now. But I think there are some great lessons that we can learn from both quarterbacks from Alabama.
From Jalen Hurts:
- It’s about “we” not “me.” Hurts since starting as a freshman last year for the Crimson Tide was 15-2 coming into the title game. His only losses were last year in the national championship game, and this year in the rivalry game against Auburn. Last year and this year, Hurts had done enough and avoided the big mistakes to help his team win. Hurts leadership and play were a big reason that Alabama was back in the national championship game for the third straight year. But this year was different. Doing just enough wasn’t going to be good enough for the Crimson Tide to beat Georgia this year. And so at halftime, Coach Saban told both quarterbacks together that there was going to be a change to start the second half. I don’t care who you are, if you have been the starter this long, and you have helped your team to get to this point, you never want to heart the coach say, “we’re going in another direction.” Although I never played on the same level as Jalen Hurts, I do understand what it is like to be on top only to come tumbling down, be taken out of the starting lineup, and have to watch your team go out and play without you. For Jalen Hurts, it was probably one of the lowest moments of his young career. However, for his team it turned out to the one of the best moments for them as they went on to win the national title. Again, I understand Hurts’ position. I was taken out, and bummed about it, but it turned out wonderful for our team as we went on to win the championship in baseball that year. The apostle Paul in describing the mind of Christ and how we as Christians should live in Philippians 2 says, “Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves” (Phil. 2:3). 20 years later, I wish I would have handled it as well as Jalen Hurts did. By God’s grace I did have some great people in my ear reminding me that I was still part of the team, and ultimately it is about “we” not “me.” Hurts demonstrated that by smiling, encouraging his replacement, and helping him any way he could in the second half. The result was the Alabama Crimson Tide won a 5th national title in nine years. Our sinful tendency is to be selfish. We want what we want, when we want, and how we want. Only by the grace of God can we live others-centered. Yet, if we want to see the world changed, and the kingdom of God built up, this is what Christians must do. We must live for the glory of God and love others enough to share the Gospel with them and serve them regardless of how we feel about them and whether we feel like it or not.
From Tua Tagovailo:
- Have the right priorities. Let me go ahead and say this, I don’t know this young man. I don’t know if he has a true relationship with God. What I do know is what I saw and what I heard from him. He was humble, he was gracious, and he gave God the glory on national television. Again, I don’t know if it is genuine or not. I know many athletes, entertainers, and politicians who say it because they think it will earn them favor with others. But in a day and age in which so many athletes, entertainers, and politicians are only out for themselves, who take to social media to tell everyone how great they are and all the things they have done; it was nice to see someone do something different. How easy would it have been for him to brag about what he did? He is a freshman in college, who led his team to outscore a good Georgia team 26-3 in the second half and in overtime, and he had just led his team to a national championship in his first meaningful playing time of the year. How many people would we brag to about that? Yet, here was a poised, articulate young man giving glory to God and credit for the win to other people. Tagovailo reminds me of Psalms 127:1, “Unless the Lord builds a house, its builders labor over it in vain; unless the Lord watches over a city, the watchman stays alert in vain.” If our priorities aren’t right, nothing in our life will be right. Sometimes people find that out in time in life, and they can make the necessary changes. However, others don’t realize that they built a house of cards rather than a house of concrete until it is too late. It’s not that God didn’t try to warn them, it’s that they just never bothered to pay attention. I will admit that it is a lot easier to be humble and gracious when you win and things are going well. It is true that a true revelation of Tua Tagovailo’s character won’t be seen until adversity strikes. But from what I saw and heard last night, I think he has his priorities straight and will give God the glory in good times and in bad.
Regardless of where these two quarterbacks go from this point forward, I believe they are setting a good example for their teammates and other people. Their lives certainly taught some important truths to anyone who was watching and listening. What about your life? Is your life pointing others to Jesus Christ and the need to be saved by His grace? When people watch you or listen to you, do they see the love and grace of Jesus Christ? Or are you building a house of cards that is one gust of the wind of adversity from being blown down?
Pastor Justin