It’s Just Basketball: A Cautionary Tale

I know. I know. Some of you right now are thinking, “I don’t even like basketball.”

Can I encourage you to stick with me for a bit? I think there can be a spiritual lesson here that goes beyond basketball. In fact, I think you could substitute anything you are passionate about or maybe that thing that causes you to get stirred up once in awhile.

Those that know me well know that I love basketball. I’m currently the assistant high school girls’ coach, and I have been coaching basketball at various levels for about 12 years. I will be the first to admit that I have not always approached the sport with the right heart attitude. In fact, I still have some BAD memories of a few instances when I let the game get the better of me and my behavior could have been considered “a fly in my tea.” Marc would jokingly say, “a HORSEfly in my tea.”

***If you don’t understand that reference, you should definitely check out my Bible study, There’s a Fly in my Tea!***

As I’ve grown spiritually, I have often said sports can bring out the worst in people. This could have caused me to give up coaching. It would have been way easier than making sure I was prayed up on game days and holding myself accountable for how I represented the Lord. Instead, I’ve tried to keep my head on straight and my heart right regarding basketball (or volleyball as I coach that as well). Marc has helped all of us–my kids included because they love to play basketball–with that by developing the mantra, “It’s just basketball.”

“It’s just basketball.”

This might be where you need to insert something else. Maybe something is frustrating at work or at home. Maybe you are a perfectionist planner and things aren’t going the way you hoped. Maybe that Pinterest-worthy birthday party for your child is not coming together like you hoped. Maybe…well, I’ll let you fill in the blank with any of the many things we are involved in that really have no eternal value.

Okay, back to why I’m writing this now. Recently, we had a game against a tough opponent. They were a good team. We knew it would be difficult to come out with a win, but at half-time we had the lead. However, the game slipped away from us in the second half. As a coach, I tend to analyze that sort of thing wondering what went wrong. Usually, I allow myself to think about it that night and form some conclusions on what we need to do better and then LET IT GO.

Not this time.

This time, I made the mistake of going back and watching game film the next day which just kept it in my mind and frustrated me even more. I allowed myself to get too stirred up about it…to “worry” about it. It consumed my mind and made me a little agitated with any thoughts of basketball.

As the Lord began dealing with me about my attitude, I kept thinking this doesn’t even matter eternally speaking.

So what does matter about basketball (or your chosen topic)?

It’s playing the game FOR FUN and enjoying ourselves. It’s learning about hard work, determination, winning and losing with right attitude. It’s how we represent the Lord. It’s the testimony we have while we are participating in these activities.

And then I remembered something that had happened after that game. The Lord had been trying to keep my focus even then—before I let myself get all stirred up.

After the game, the athletic director from the other school had approached me and said, “In case, I don’t see your daughter, please tell her that I’ve always enjoyed watching her play. She doesn’t get stirred up. She gets bumped around, takes a tumble, and just gets back up and goes back to work. No whining or complaining. She just plays ball.”

Now that is what matters about basketball.

Let me just encourage you to keep your focus on eternity. Not everything we do has eternal value, but how we do those things does.

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

Colossians 3:1-2, 17