There are many things in this life that can poison your heart. In college, it might be alcohol, drugs or toxic relationships. As a professional athlete, those temptations are often in the form of material possessions and money. But when I committed my life to Christ during my playing days at the University of Nebraska, I allowed Him to fill the void in my heart that worldly things could never satisfy. I was finally at peace.

No matter how long you have been serving the Lord, the enemy of your soul is going to tempt you to walk away from the straight and narrow path. Thankfully, when I began playing for the Buffalo Bills, I had a group of like-minded individuals to help me stay the course. I also became actively involved in Bible studies and grew in my knowledge of His Word.

Back when I played “ankle-biter” football as an 8-year-old, I remember how parents would pull their cars up next to field and shine their car lights

when the practice was running late and it was getting too dark to see the ball. Our coach needed more light to teach us that big play that would win

it for us on Saturday. Four cars (eight lights) lit the practice field up like a Christmas tree! As little football players, we saw the light.

As athletes we need to S.E.E. the light. Not the car lights, but another kind of light. This light deals with our physical bodies that God created

for us to take care of, not abuse. S.E.E. stands for Sleep, Eat and Exercise. I meet so many competitors who train hard on the field of competition,

I was fortunate to be one of the best high jumpers in the world for many years. My best jump of 7’ 10.5” still ranks as one of the top four of all time. Jumping at a bar that high almost seems impossible when looking at it with our natural eye. In fact, most people won’t even attempt to jump because they are intimidated by its height. But for world-class jumpers, we’re never intimidated because we look through a different set of eyes. We often focus on a point high above the bar to guide us in the right direction. At times, we don’t even see the bar because our eyes are set on something much higher.

As a competitor, it is hard to give glory where glory is due, when others deserve it more than we do. Training, discipline, perseverance, and drive are all characteristics that can propel an athlete to the next level, making good athletes into great athletes.

But often after achieving a goal, we feel that it is our hard work that got us to that point. The praise, honor, and glory are focused on us as individual athletes.

Part of FCA’s Competitor’s Creed states:

“I do not trust in myself.

I do not boast in my abilities

or believe in my own strength.

I rely solely on the power of God.

I compete for the pleasure of

my Heavenly Father, the honor of Christ

and the reputation of the Holy Spirit.”

He had accepted his dream job as the head football coach in a highly successful school. He had always been successful. He won lots of games and championships in his first few years of coaching and now had just completed his first two losing seasons. He was hearing boos from the public, and his wife could barely take the unending criticism flooding from the stands about her husband.

There are some things that just set a coach off. Together those things make up what I call my "Hot List"--things that made me mad fast!

1. A lazy player.
2. Someone who is constantly late.
3. Those who would rather complain than try harder.
4. Those who blame everyone else and never take responsibility for their own actions.

These players really pushed me to the limit as a coach. Was there redeeming value in them? Absolutely. But rarely did they see it in themselves.

What athlete does not want to be in a Hall of Fame? What little kid playing T-ball doesn’t dream of hitting the winning home run in the World Series? What sixth grader playing touch football at recess doesn’t dream of playing in the Super Bowl? It is in our nature to be driven competitors.

Our society has special places of honor for those who are above average. Whether it is dreaming of being inducted in Canton, Ohio, as a gridiron great or making it to Cooperstown, New York, as a hero of the diamond, everybody wants to be the best. The thing some athletes don’t realize is that they are already in God’s Hall of Fame.

Every once in a while we encounter an opponent in competition who, by all accounts, is unbeatable, and it prompts fear in our team. Some opponents seem to grow larger and larger as we approach game day. The media reports and general word-of-mouth discussions depict them as giants. How should we approach such an opponent?

Your opponents on the athletic field are worthy of your respect. They are not, however, worthy of fear! The work of God’s Spirit within us does not bring fear. It brings courage.

Football is a physical game and requires self-control by coaches and players. We know there are consequences when someone loses the ability to control himself or herself. When a coach or a player loses the ability to control his or her emotions, everybody loses. Not only is the one who lost control penalized, but so is the team.

As coaches, we are to be examples of self-control for our players and fellow coaches. It is very easy to allow our emotions to get the best of us at practice or during a game. The situation that causes us to lose it could be a controversial call by a referee, a blown assignment by a player, or something that we have absolutely no control over. The situation is not the important thing; it is how we respond.