Collarbone VS. Friend

The Matchup:   

Collarbone vs Friend

Location:

Romans 12:19

Don't take revenge, dear friends. Instead, let God's anger take care of it. After all, Scripture says, "I alone have the right to take revenge. I will pay back, says the Lord."

Headline:

"You'll never get ahead of anyone as long as you try to get even with him."

                                                             LOU HOLTZ

Game Summary:

REVENGE is a interesting word.  There's even a TV show by this name.  Some people think it is acceptable in certain situations, but the Bible says differently. Raised in the church,(knowing who Jesus was), I knew God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit. I knew right from wrong. I knew "Church"/Religion. I just didn't have a personal relationship. I wasn't a full follower of Jesus. In high school I was really focused on sports… played football, track, powerlifter, and played basketball. I received a scholarship to East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma to play football. There I found myself living a sinful life… getting in fights, parting, damaging my body and getting in trouble with the police and the school.

I remember back in my junior year of high school I had just been interviewed by The Daily Oklahoman. The season started great. We were 2-0. I was leading the 5-A division with 20 tackles. I was very prideful, thinking nothing could stop me. Once, while doing tackling drills, one of my teammates (actually my best friend) lit me up hard in practice. It embarrassed me- made me mad. I was the big shot, you know.  So I waited in the line perfectly just so I would match up with him to get revenge on him. I was running the ball, dropped the ball purposely just to hurt him. We collided viciously. Well, when determined to get my revenge I was the one who got hurt. I ended up breaking my collarbone. I had to have surgery. Now, after finding a true relationship with the Lord, later on in college I looked back on that moment. I learned two things.
1. God before football. If I am putting more time into football instead of seeking God first through Scripture and prayer, something is wrong
2. Do not seek revenge. It's okay to compete, and football is a physical sport. But the way I approached the situation was wrong
Most of us grow up carrying our parents’ Faith. We have to make the decision somewhere to have our own. We will be judged alone at the gates of Heaven. I decided to live for Jesus Christ, my savior... Completely. I was born again! I do everything to glorify God on and off the field. I honor God by competing at a high level all of the time and showing the love of Jesus to teammates, coaches, etc.


MVP:
Gumaro Murphy (East Central University Tigers Defensive End)

Recap:

Have you ever taken revenge on someone?  If so, how did it turn out and how did it make you feel?

A popular phrase when we feel someone wrongs us is “even the score.”  Has anything ever happened to you that made you want to "even the score”?  In Gumaro’s case it was being embarrassed by his teammate. When you think of Jesus in the Bible, what did he say to do when someone does something to hurt you? Do you see that being applied in our lives today? In sports, school, or home?

Practice:

Checkout Lecrae’s song “Good, Bad, Ugly”