Playing On God's TeamSample

Are There Many Ways to Play on God’s Team?

There is only one way to play on God’s team—His way. Knowing that the game plan of Christ is the only one that will work for His team is an important aspect to grasp because we live in a world that tends to ignore this truth. Many people, rather than depending solely on the Bible’s instructions, have chosen to trust their own instincts when determining what Jesus will or will not accept from them.

This is how some athletes become what I like to call game-day Christians. They don’t really pray or read Scripture that much during the week, but on game day, that’s when God gets a lot of attention. I used to be like this myself. I wanted protection from injury, the vision on the field, and a victory all wrapped up in one big blessing. During the week, however, I just wanted my food blessed. I was not aware how silly it was for me to think that I could ignore Jesus all week long, and then—like a football genie— He’d grant all my game-day wishes just because I “believed in Him.”

No one can change what God’s Word says and has already defined as acceptable when it comes to membership on God’s team. Our earthly opinions will never replace God-breathed Scripture. As a Christian, the Bible alone—without twisting, manipulating, or tailoring it—must be our ultimate source of truth and guidance. The Bible is the only acceptable way to play for His team. All other methods fail if they try to replace or compromise God’s truth.

If life is the game, then the Bible is the perfect playbook. Without one, it is utterly impossible to play on God’s team.

When people accept Christ and join His team but then make a lifelong continued effort to play by their own rules, they’ll eventually become players He cannot use. By ignoring the game plan of God, you are cutting yourself off from the team.

Choosing to live by our own rules is like walking up to Jesus and saying, “I’m sorry, Coach. I love being on your team, but I just don’t like certain parts of your game plan. So I’ll just go with mine instead—but I’m still gonna need your blessings on my plans, Big Guy.”

A Christian athlete is defined by the fact that he or she strives to follow Christ each and every day, because for each of them every day is game day.