“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”—2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NAS)
To have all the talent in the world is meaningless if you do not work at improving your skills. To be great at anything, you must first admit that you do not have all the answers. Athletes learn from experience. But the successful ones also learn from coaching and their willingness to be coached.
They are willing to hear constructive criticism on where they may be able to improve their game. They are not too prideful to be shown how to get better at something. Their desire to be the best allows them to listen to what they may not want to hear.
The same is true for coaches. Assistant coaches learn from the head coach, and even the head coach learns from others coaches, including those on his or her staff.
As Christians, we must take a similar approach. We don’t have all the answers, but fortunately we know who does—God. He has given us His Word, which is a blueprint for how we are to live and how we are to approach things.
If our hearts are open, the Word can teach us, correct us and train us up in righteousness. As verse 17 makes clear, as men and women of God we can be adequately equipped for every good work. If we let pride get in the way and turn to ourselves, we’ll fail. Just as the talented athlete who is unwilling to be coached, the Christian who is unwilling to yield and learn from the Word of God is doomed to failure.
— Brendan Handel
OneCoach, part of the Sports Spectrum Network, is an international community of coaches and spouses who have been uniquely gifted and called by God. Visit OneCoach.org for more stories and videos.
RELATED LINKS:
– Michael Schlact – Diary of a Minor League Manager (Part 1)
– OneCoach: What We Teach
– Josh Mitchell on pitching in Royals organization: ‘God was every bit the reason I made it’
– Ethan Chapman: The Diary of a Minor League Baseball Player
