We all know that when we are young we do ignorant things.\u00a0 Needless to say there are many things in my life looking back on it I really wish I hadn’t done.\u00a0 The problem isn’t the mistakes that we make, it is when we don’t learn from them.\u00a0 I unfortunately have also been a part of that as well.\u00a0 I had the privilege of spending a nice weekend with my family, which meant I didn’t watch a lot of college football which just kicked off this week.\u00a0 In fact, I didn’t even watch an entire half of football including my beloved Hokies (although I did listen to the game while traveling).\u00a0 But I did manage to catch some highlights of the bigger games including some from the Texas A&M vs. LSU game.\u00a0 This game was of particular interest to me because of a player in the game.\u00a0 The quarterback for Texas A&M, Johnny Manziel.\u00a0 Johnny is now a college sophomore who had an incredible freshman season and many things were expected of him this year.\u00a0 However, over the summer he got into some trouble with college football’s governing body, the NCAA.\u00a0 He supposedly signed autographs for money which is against the rules of the NCAA.\u00a0 Regardless of your feelings on the rule, it is still a rule, and it was reportedly broken.\u00a0 Manziel also was engaging in typical, but questionable behavior throughout the summer as well.\u00a0 Late last week the NCAA handed down Manziel’s punishment for the alleged sign for pay deal.\u00a0 He was suspended for one half of one football game (laughable I know).\u00a0 Therefore, I wanted to see how he would handle himself in the second half.\u00a0 Would he learn from this past summer and do what adults are suppose to do, grow up?\u00a0 Unfortunately, he didn’t!\u00a0 He made a couple of nice plays and when he threw for a touchdown he made a gesture like he had money in his hands.\u00a0 He was also caught on camera taunting players from the other team and then air signing his signature.\u00a0 I understand he did the money gesture last year.\u00a0 However, in light of his reported conduct in the off season both gestures showed a college kid who simply doesn’t get it.\u00a0 To Texas A&M coach’s credit, Manziel was pulled after getting a 15 yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for taunting.\u00a0 I don’t want to run the kid known as “Johnny Football” through the mud.\u00a0 After all, he is still a young adult and there is plenty of time for him to grow up.\u00a0 However, it points to a larger problem.<\/p>\n
That problem is pride.\u00a0 There is no doubt that Johnny Manziel is a very good if not great quarterback.\u00a0 The problem is Johnny knows that <\/strong>Johnny is good.\u00a0 My concern for Johnny and the “Johnny” in all of us (myself included) is that our pride will get in our way and it will be our downfall.\u00a0 James and Peter both wrote “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”\u00a0 We need to have a proper perspective of who we are as well as who God is.\u00a0 Everything we have, everything we are, and everything we ever accomplish is by the grace of God.\u00a0 When we lose sight of that we are in for a hard fall.\u00a0 It is possible to be good at what you do and still be humble.\u00a0 I simply point to two of my favorite players of all time, Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison.\u00a0 Neither of them is perfect, but they always stayed grounded and realized that playing football is a privilege, not a right.\u00a0 The best cure for our pride is to look at Christ, because only He was perfect.\u00a0 So the next time we think we are something special let’s remember, there is one who is better than us, and hopefully that will bring us back down to earth.<\/p>\n By His grace and through His strength may we live for Him<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We all know that when we are young we do ignorant things.\u00a0 Needless to say there are many things in my life looking back on it I really wish I hadn’t done.\u00a0 The problem isn’t the mistakes that we make, … Read More