8-10-2022
Start With The Basics
Summer is winding down. County Fairs have ended and the Iowa State Fair kicks off tomorrow, school will be starting before we know it and then it’s time for some football. Maybe you enjoy football, maybe you don’t. Either way, the legendary football coach, Vince Lombardi, has a great reminder for all of us – even when it’s not football season and even if you don’t like football.
In 1960, the Green Bay Packers’ season ended on a disappointing note. They were playing the Philadelphia Eagles for the National Championship. (This was before the Super Bowl era.) The Packers came into the fourth quarter behind by 4, but scored a touchdown to take the lead. Unfortunately for them, the Eagles scored a touchdown as well and when the Packers were unable to capitalize on a last-minute opportunity, they lost the game, 17-13.
During the off-season, Coach Vince Lombardi came to the conclusion that his players, though talented, had failed to focus on the fundamentals of the game. So, when training camp began in the following season, he decided to take a back-to-basics approach in rebuilding the team.
And he decided to start at the very beginning. In the opening team meeting, he held up a ball and said, “Gentlemen, first things first. This is a football.”
Here we are, some 62 years later and even today we find ourselves, at times, losing sight of our priorities. When that happens, we sometimes find ourselves “fumbling the ball” and “failing to execute” in a way that leads to success. But the Apostle Paul wrote this to encourage us:
Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! (1 Corinthians 9:24, NLT)
When you find yourself struggling, or stumbling, it’s time to get your eyes back on the prize. It’s time to get back to the basics. The truth is, sometimes we have to remind ourselves:
This is my family.
This is my job.
This is priority one for me.
This is a new day.
This is a Bible.
This is a church.
This is my relationship with God.
That 1960 National Championship game marked the lone playoff defeat for Packers coach Vince Lombardi before his Packers team established a dynasty that won five NFL championships, as well as the first two Super Bowls, in a span of seven seasons. Lombardi’s “lets-start-at-the-beginning strategy” wasn’t the only reason the Packers won all of those championship games, but it certainly didn’t hurt.
You probably don’t have a locker room with a coach who challenges and encourages you. But you have something better. You have this promise from Jesus:
….all things are possible with God. (Mark 10:27, NIV)
If you find yourself “fumbling the ball”, maybe it’s time to locate square one, identify step one, and begin again…..with the basics.