Guest post by Evan Albertyn
I recently helped coach a team. It was a successful team, but we weren’t able to win it all. Outside of tournament play, we only lost to two schools the entire season. After losing to one of them for the second time, one of my players said “I don’t care, we’re better than them. I know we are!” The player really believed it, and I saw it as a window of opportunity to speak truth into the situation, so I said carefully, “Well, I think we may have the ability to beat them, yet it’s important that we face reality. They’ve beaten us twice, so, by definition, they are better than us. Until the score board at the end of the game says we have beaten them, we all will be better off acknowledging that they are better than us.” Initially it was a tough pill to swallow, but an important one.
It’s better to walk in the freedom of the truth than agonize in the disappointment of a loss! I know as an athlete you HATE to admit that anyone is better than you, but sometimes that is the case, and it is liberating when you are able to bury the pride and admit it. It doesn’t mean that you throw in the towel or stop working harder to be the best. It allows you to give honor where honor is due, and at the same time it relieves the pressure that comes from being result oriented. It also moves you to a place where you constantly play with all you’ve got, regardless of what the scoreboard says at any moment.
We often mistake humility for giving up. It’s not. It’s merely when we can walk in truth and recognize things for what they are. Simply put, all men are not created equal. If you question this, just go stand next to LeBron James, or play a little one on one against him, or challenge him to a dunk contest. This does not mean that all men cannot strive for the same result; it just means that we have varying abilities to get there, or we need to utilize different means in getting there. Case in point – David & Goliath. However, when the desired result doesn’t come to be, deception won’t bring triumph, just greater frustration. After all God didn’t say, “whatever you do, make sure you win,” – a goal unobtainable for everyone, all the time. He said “Whatever you do, do it with all your heart,” – a goal obtainable for everyone, all the time.
