Every Play Matters

Football Wisdom

Being a Wisconsin Badgers football fan is usually a pretty positive experience.  The Badgers have had strong teams over the past quarter century. Though they may not win many national championships, they are generally toward the top of the Big Ten conference almost every year.  So it was with sadness that I watched as Brigham Young University came out of Camp Randall Stadium with a win last Saturday. That wasn’t supposed to happen.  But some football wisdom may have resulted.

Tuesday, after the loss, I scanned with interest an article in USA Today.  The captain of the team and the Coach were both rather matter of fact.  Neither one thought the loss was an occasion for much emotion. Rather it was a call to practice the central philosophy of the team.  If I can summarize, they must be excellent all the time.

Coach Paul Chryst made an interesting observation in the article.  

Emotional play can lead to momentum swings in games “and yet I think it really comes down to playing good football,” Chryst said. “Those five, six, seven, eight plays … you look at them and those become significant. What’s awesome when you play those games is you don’t know when those plays are going to come.”

The Mystery of Future History

I’m pretty sure life is like that as well.  There are turning points on which every life hinges.  Moments when a shift occurs that shapes all that comes after.  Sometimes we anticipate those major events. But quite frequently they surprise us.  Indeed, the moments can come and go unnoticed, leaving little trace as to their significance.  Perhaps we may reflect on our recent steps as a team views the video of the preceding game and discover a pivot point.  Sometimes, an event buried in our past comes to light and causes havoc. But often we remain in ignorance of just what shapes the course of our lives.

Soren Kierkegaard, the 19th century Danish philosopher, wrote in his journal in 1843,  “It is perfectly true, as the philosophers say, that life must be understood backwards. But they forget the other proposition, that it must be lived forwards.”  So true. When living life we do not have the luxury of understanding how each event will ultimately shape our destiny or the fortunes of those around us. We must just live the moment in ignorance.

Three Principles

Given our lack of understanding, how should we live?  I can think of three key principles.

First, live with excellence.  Do everything you put your hand to well.  Avoid the temptation to slack off or convince yourself that something doesn’t really matter.  If it is in your power to do something well without short-changing other things, put in the effort needed for excellence — whether it be building a skyscraper or jotting off an email.

Second, live with virtue.  The four “cardinal virtues” of classical antiquity (Prudence, Courage, Temperance, and Justice) don’t get a whole lot of press these days.  Moral education is rarely seen as central to public school curricula. Yet consistently applying these ethical and dispositional standards to every situation would ensure that the vast majority of our live’s pivotal events are positive rather than negative.

Finally, live with faith, hope and love.  These three, taken from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, are sometimes referred to as the three “theological virtues.”  All three arise from understanding of, confidence in, and submission to the sovereign Lordship of the risen Christ.  Incorporating these three into all of life brings to bear something amazing. The God who created the universe; who understands and knows the significance of every moment, action, and event; who loves us so deeply He willingly sacrificed all for us; this same God has come alongside us to help us in our weakness and to ultimately bring us to a good end.  It is in walking by faith with the Master that we need not be in terror of the precarious present and the unknowable future.

Look to This Day

My father used to quote from a portion of a famous poem by Sanskrit poet, Kalidasa.  In light of our ignorance of the significance of each moment, I believe it has something important to say.

Look to this day:

For it is life, the very life of life.

In its brief course

Lie all the verities and realities of your existence.

The bliss of growth,

The glory of action,

The splendour of achievement

Are but experiences of time.

For yesterday is but a dream

And tomorrow is only a vision;

And today well-lived, makes

Yesterday a dream of happiness

And every tomorrow a vision of hope.

Look well therefore to this day;

Such is the salutation to the ever-new dawn!