Legendary college football coach Eddie Robinson once said, “Coaching is a profession of love. You can’t coach people if you don’t love them.” I believe these thoughts extend to athletes as well. To get the most out of our abilities and the opportunity to compete, our attitude and effort must be grounded in love.
Many times, pride is the biggest barrier that prevents us from competing with a loving heart and for God’s glory. Pride works in direct opposition to love and focuses on the individual person rather than others. Pride and love cannot coexist together. Where love gives, pride takes. Where love trusts, pride doubts. Where love brings peace, pride drives fear.
We have a great example to follow in Jesus! In Philippians 2, Paul encourages the young church planting team in Philippi to “have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.” This was an attitude of humility-driven obedience to God that was rooted in a love for us that drove Jesus to the cross. In our sport, we have the opportunity to “rock Philippians 2” in how we compete, and how we treat our coaches, teammates, and competitors.
