Fruit Of The Spirit Sports Devotional Sample

Leader's Guide Lesson 10: Self-control

Theme:

We can only achieve self-control by fully submitting to God and letting Him have His way inside of us.

Coaches' Notes:

It’s one of the biggest pet peeves I have in coaching. The body language of slumped shoulders, looking down, stomping around, or a player sometimes close to tears. I’ve seen it in young players, and I’ve even seen it in my varsity softball players at times. Nothing gives me the “coach that nails down the chalkboard” feeling more than seeing this in players. Why? First, a player who lacks self-control has no chance of success on the field, especially in a sport where failure is inevitable at times (the best hitters fail as often as they succeed). Second, a player lacking self-control in something as trivial as a sport is really going to struggle in settings that matter far more (tests, interviews, jobs, etc.).

Now let’s get a bit more personal. In a tournament earlier this year, I argued a call with an umpire. No coach would say I was wrong. Sparing you the details, it involved a very dirty and dangerous play by another player that everyone watching knew was done on purpose. It happened late in a tied game and late in the tournament, so the play really mattered. The umpire knew the play was dirty and on purpose, and he ejected the player. But he failed to call the play a dead ball to prevent a run from scoring as a result of the dirty play. This was undoubtedly a wrong call under the rules and spirit of the game. I had every right to argue the call, sticking up for my player and team.

But something happened while I was arguing. It was obvious the umpire didn’t see it my way. It also became obvious that he didn’t really care about getting it right. I argued and argued, to no avail. There came a moment in arguing that I knew to argue any further would cross the line. Yet, I crossed the line anyway. I got louder and louder. I was eventually thrown out of the game. What started out as appropriate became inappropriate. Why? Because at some point, I crossed the line of lacking self-control. I later apologized to my players and parents and used it as a teaching opportunity about self-control.

We all fall short sometimes in exercising self-control. But this is a fruit of the Spirit that is essential to living out our faith and exemplifying Christ-like behavior.

Discussion Questions: 

1. Discuss with players what self-control is. Ask them to give examples of how coaches or players show self-control or show a lack of self-control.
2. Ask why it matters so much to have self-control. Use it as a teaching opportunity to explain how important self-control is in sports and life.

Discussion:

Self-control is the last fruit of the Spirit. Remember, we’ve said that these are the fruit of the Spirit (from God). Meaning that these come from God. We can only exhibit these with God inside of us (and even then, only with His help).

Which makes our last fruit of the Spirit a little strange at first glance. Self-control comes from God.  A word with “self” in it comes from God. How can this be?

Although it sounds a bit strange, it makes perfect sense. Self-control is the ability to control our emotions. The ability to control our anger. Our frustration. Our worrying. Our temptations. Whatever it is that we struggle with, self-control is the ability to not give into it. And just like all fruit of the Spirit, we can’t control these things by ourselves. We need God’s help. Self-control is critical to the Christian life. The Bible gives a couple of analogies to the importance of self-control.

First, Proverbs 25.28 says “a man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” In other words, we are exposed and easily tempted to over-react without self-control.

Second, Paul talks about an athlete having “self control in all things” (1 Corinthians 9.24-27). He says an athlete must train in a focused, disciplined, and purposeful way to achieve the desired result.

It’s the same way in life. We must be focused, disciplined, and purposeful in how we live our lives so as not to over-react to tense or stressful situations. Being prepared for situations we may face. Thinking through how to handle situations before they happen.

But here’s the good news. God stands ready to help you. Whatever tempts us to lose control, we need God’s help to exercise self-control. Trust Him with it. Rely on Him. Ask Him daily for help. Ask that He have His way inside of us. (1 Corinthians 3.16.) Only then can we have self-control, not because we’re so strong, but because God is.