Parents, teachers, pastors, coaches and athletes are role models. Since you are a role model, the question then becomes, are you a good role model or a bad one? One of the joys of playing ball at a Christian college was the opportunity to play under Christian coaches. Like other coaches I had played for, the coaches at Wheaton College (Illinois) also wanted to win games and championships, but they were mainly interested in the spiritual development and growth of their players. They had their rules and disciplines. There were wind sprints and timed long distance runs for soccer conditioning. The baseball coach made us run laps around the field if we had “taken a third called strike” in the previous game.

But the team meetings were different. No cursing, no throwing things, and no humiliation of players took place. Instead, there was encouragement in the Christian life, prayer and even praise. The coaches made an impact in our lives as they selected players to share testimonies in church services and youth meetings when our team was invited to take part. I learned a great deal from them.

May each of us be good role models and pray: “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer” (Psalm 19:14).

By Buddy Hart

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