Every competitive athlete is looking for an edge: a way to get faster—shave seconds off his/her time, get stronger, or jump higher. We know our performance depends on it.

In training, athletes often wear a weighted vest as they go through their drills, helping them push beyond their normal limits. The additional stress to their body in a controlled environment prepares them for the intense demands of competition. When the vest comes off, these athletes feel invincible. They are faster, stronger, and more agile. It is like a prisoner has been freed.

Due to Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans Saints began the 2005 NFL season with more on their minds than winning football games. Katrina caused devastation not only in the lives of many Saints fans, players and families, but also to the whole city of New Orleans. In the season opener, kicker John Carney hit a 47-yard field goal with three seconds left to give the saints a 23-20 victory over the Carolina Panthers. “You don’t want to attach too much importance to it, you know, because it’s still just a football game,” Carney said. “But, sure, there was a sense that we were playing for more than ourselves today."

The world’s definition of excellence is just based on performance. As soon as you’re not performing, no one in the media wants to talk to you anymore, and it’s easy to get down on yourself. It’s all wrapped up in performance. It’s like building your house on the sand. It’s very changing and fleeting, and eventually it’s going to be gone because no one is always on top of his or her game. When you find your identity in Christ and in what He’s done for you, it’s the unchanging, sturdy rock that you can always stand on. You can have a much healthier perspective on yourself and in life in general and in where your hope lies. When I’m not performing well, I lose my hope. I lose my joy. I get down. I get depressed.

Even as the words float off the end of my tongue, I realize I blew it. This kind of situation usually involves my saying negative words to teammates or others. It’s easy for me to become the cut-down king. It doesn’t take much—maybe just calling someone a name. Other teammates usually laugh, but those reckless words cut. They pierce like a sword and cause damage. Playing the cut-down game means going with the flow. I realize now that I want to play the BUG.