Spiritual Perspectives
God's Got Game

By Tom Bee
Special to The Independent

I like to compare serving God faithfully to that of an athlete with the NBA or any professional sport for that matter. It takes discipline (obedience), practice (prayer), and dedication (reading the word). Let's use basketball as an example. Like all sports, the coach expects his players to listen, and to know his voice, and to put trust in his decisions.

God is our spiritual coach and He says in John 10:27-28, "My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow Me, and I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them from Me."

Ask yourself, are you a player?

No matter how perfect we think we have our game down, or how perfect of a player we may think we are, we all have flaws and shortcomings. So many of us are still baby athletes, still dependent on training wheels to keep us from tripping up.

The problem is, so many of us think we're star players, we don't need to practice, we got it going on.

Isaiah 40:26 says, "look up to the heavens, who created all these stars? As a Shepard (coach) leads his sheep (team) calling each by its pet name and counts them to see that none are lost or strayed, so God does with stars and planets."

You cannot be a champion in the game of life unless you follow God's plan for you. You must be a team player, no showboating allowed; it's all about God, not about you or I.

We have too much linen in our game, too much soft cotton. We need to add a little polyester in the mix. We need a wrinkle free game style. Only God can iron out the imperfections in your game.

Some of us are not yet ready to wear the God's Property T-Shirt, still lifting light weights, not yet ready to grow in our strength with God, not yet ready to sprint, still barely walking, not ready to run, too tired to pick up the pace. Some of us are still dribbling on the sidelines, never been off the bench, never breaking a sweat or getting your uniform dirty.

In the NBA draft option, Satan wants the best worldly possessions; God wants those that are newly born again. God's NBA stands for the "New Blessings Available," Satan's NBA stands for "No Blessings Available."

A good offense means nothing unless you have a strong defense. In Psalms 59:10, our spiritual coach says, "because of His strength of will, I wait upon thee, for God is my defense." You must decide if you want a champion's crown in heaven or loser's thorns in hell. Without God's defense, Satan's game of sin will find you, blind you, and grind you!

God wants you to have a winning season; Satan wants you to have a losing season. God wants you in His locker room with the rest of God's players. We may scrimmage, but we don't follow the coach's instructions. We're not ready for field goals from any angle, much less a 3 pointer. We're always looking for free throws. Some of us aren't ready to suit up or even make it as far as the bench. We're still in the showers trying to get clean.

You can't put the moves on God. He knows our every move. Some of us blame everyone else for our losing season. We pout, whine, and say, "The coach doesn't like me." That's right, He doesn't like you, He loves you. What other coach do you know that can tell you "I forgive you, I love you, come on over to My house," all in one breath. God's ready to play ball. Are you?

Many of us are content just watching the game from the bleachers, afraid to set foot on the court, afraid to shoot, not realizing that God wants us to score in the game of life. Remember, God wants you to have a winning season. Satan wants you to have a losing season.

So many of us are still sitting in the cheap seats, out of touch, out of view, proudly flaunting our double zero jersey. Satan wants to keep us in the cheap seats, he's a cheapskate.

You can only foul out so many times in the game of life, and before you know it, the game's over. You've got to make the devil foul out of your game. Satan doesn't want you to get in any playing time. God wants you to play the full game. God wants to crown you a champion in the kingdom. Satan wants you to wait till next season.

God wants us to at least show up for the game, but many of us would rather forfeit our blessings and compromise with God by rescheduling to a more convenient time for us. The spirit of fear has kept us out of the playoffs year after year.

When I think about God's goodness, it makes me want to have a serious fourth quarter rally. It makes me want to do some serious slam dunkin' on the devil, it makes me want to score like crazy. I just want to rout the devil!

I leave you with this thought; don't get so caught up in physical fitness that you neglect your spiritual fitness. Spiritual fitness also requires daily exercise, reading the word, praying, and loving others.

I ask you, are you a player?

Tom Bee is a singer, songwriter, and Grammy Award winning music producer from Albuquerque, N.M. He is also an evangelist with Red Sea Ministries. He can be contacted at (505) 268-6110.

This column is the result of a desire by community members, representing different faith communities, wishing to share their ideas about bringing a spiritual perspective into our daily lives and community issues.

For information about contributing a guest column, contact Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola at the Independent: (505) 863-8611, ext. 218 or lizreligion01@yahoo.com.