Political Playing Field

Last year, for the first time in 15 years, I found myself without a soccer team to coach. The Christian school where I had been teaching and coaching shut their doors, and, with the late notice of the closing, it was too late to find another team. Instead, I found myself on a different team—a team that was completely divided. I ran for State Representative in my town, and the eight candidates from my party chose to run as a team.

Throughout the election, I found myself praying to God for guidance and wisdom. I also spent a lot of time shaking my head and wondering, “What have I gotten myself into?” But through my years of sports training, I knew what teamwork was, and I knew what it was like to be a team player.

Over the past 30-plus years, I have played, coached and officiated most sports, and this gave me a great advantage when I entered the political process. Planning out my campaign strategy was no different than planning out a season of practices and games. Dealing with other politicians was no different than dealing with athletes and other coaches and refs.

It’s wonderful how well sports prepares us for different aspects of life, isn’t it? I’m sure you’ve discovered that the same lessons you learn from the field or court can translate easily into many different settings. But what’s even better than that is how God prepares us through His Word. In our Christian lives, we have it much easier planning out our game plans because we have His playbook to guide us every step of the way. Keeping God's Word in our hearts and minds will give us the ultimate wisdom and keep us in the game—even on the winning side.

In sports (and politics and any other of life’s venues), we have to rely on so many other people for our success or failure. However, if we keep the Lord first in our lives, we will remain on His winning team, which is the only one that offers victory that lasts for eternity.