Coaches and Referees

Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:13-22 ESV). Over the weekend the soccer team I help coach was scheduled to play a game against a team coached by an individual who has a history of being rather unsportsmanlike in his victories. This was the third game we faced them of the season. His team won the first one, we won the second. Kyle was not going to be able to be there and I had the team alone. I was a little concerned. I wanted to put the kids in a position to win. I had mentioned the game on FaceBook and here’s one of the responses I got from a good friend in Texas: “Try not to get kicked out of the game. Can we all just agree that you know more than the refs ever will so there's no reason to get upset when they make a wrong call.” Well let me update the status a bit before I go further. We did win the game, and I did not get into any trouble at all. Even Mary said I was a “model coach.” Perhaps that a little bit of a stretch, but she did say I did good. Truthfully that was the only thing I should have done! Anything less would have been wrong at so many different levels. I find it is amazing how we can rationalize sin in our own lives. We have little double standards that we develop thinking that what is acceptable for us isn't acceptable for anyone else. Regardless of how clear the Scripture might be, we still seem to to figure out a way to think it’s not wrong when we do it. After all, I ought to be able to yell at the referee, I know more… right? Wrong! Looking into the Scripture for clarity and then praying for the strength of will to do as God desires is always a better way. Some might say that the Scripture isn’t always as clear as we need. Today’s reading seems to indicate otherwise. It is very clear. Can there ever be a time when being “at peace” with one another is a bad thing? Will there ever be a time when God would tell us that repaying evil for evil is to be preferred in our relationships with others. Yet, these are the things we are tempted to think as acceptable. Perhaps you’re faced with some decision today concerning another. Take this Scripture and use it as your guide in decision making. You won’t go far off the mark!