Excuses Are For Losers

I was a high school football player for Buckeye Union High School almost 20 years ago. I played offensive line, starting left tackle, for three of the four years (my senior year I was converted and started at tight end). I had never played before my freshman year, but my size (6'2", 200 lbs) meant that I was needed to keep the opposing lineman off our quarterback. As I said, I started every year I played offensive tackle, including my first year on varsity, as a junior. That year I made 1st team All-Region.

But what I remember most was one afternoon during two-a-days that junior year. We were doing drills against the scout team, who held blocking pads in their hands, so it wasn't exactly realistic, but it was early in the season and we were getting the plays down. My assignment on this particular running play was to block the linebacker, and I remember doing exactly just that. I ran him completely out of the play.

When the whistle sounded to end the play however, I found that our running back was hit behind the line of scrimmage by the nose guard when the he stunted into the gap between me and the offensive guard next to me, thus having a clear path to the running back. The play lost yardage, and the nose guard was assigned to the offensive guard next to me, but obviously he missed his block.

Coach Nunez, who wasn't the most cool headed of coaches, yelled at me, "Why did you not block Jarvis Berry?", the scout team nose guard. I answered, "I was supposed to block the linebacker, and I did." Technically I was correct. I did what I was supposed to do on paper. Instead, my coach blew up at me.

"Excuses are for losers, Danny Saylor," he said, and sent the entire team to run gassers for my answer.

At the time, I was angry. I did nothing wrong, done my job correctly. It was someone else's mistake. I, and most of my team, were now running because of some stupid whim of who was truly a very tempermental man.

But, I still remember this moment, now 17 years (almost to the day) later, because it taught me something very valuable, something that has shaped me into who I am today. See, it wasn't that I blocked the wrong guy, I should have read that my linemate, the offensive guard, had blown his assignment and blocked the nose guard myself (Jarvis was a quick guy!). I failed the team that day, and realized much later, due to my legalism in justifying my actions based on what was right technically, when instead I needed to learn that sometimes when you head out on a course of action, doing another's job is necessary for the benefit of the team. The guard should have released the nose guard to me, and gone on and done my assignment by going to pick up the linebacker. I should have done his job, and combined, the play would have been successful.

Excuses are for losers. Coach Nunez, as much as I hate to say it, was right. Responsibility lies not in how each of us performs, but what each of us should do in order to benefit the team. We all have reasons why we don't accomplish the things we set out to do- family, work, no time, etc.- but they are all the cliched "the dog ate my homework" excuse. Even if it were true, you had to get the assignment done anyway. In my case, the assignment of the team- to be successful- had been lost sight of instead for my personal assignment. It was my fault, coach, I admit it. Thanks for the lesson.

Oh My God Jars!

Youtube is pretty awesome, you can find almost anything you want there.

Was turned onto the Jars of Clay song "Oh My God" which is featured in the background of a previous John Piper youtube link on this blog...you can find the song in it's entirety with someone else doing a slideshow and providing some lyrics here:

Oh My God

Here are the lyrics:

Oh my God, look around this place
Your fingers reach around the bone
You set the break and set the tone
Flights of grace, and future falls
In present pain
All fools say, "Oh my God"

Oh my God, Why are we so afraid?
We make it worse when we don't bleed
There is no cure for our disease
Turn a phrase, and rise again
Or fake your death and only tell your closest friend
Oh my God.

Oh my God, can I complain?
You take away my firm belief and graft my soul upon your grief
Weddings, boats and alibis
All drift away, and a mother cries

Liars and fools; sons and failures
Thieves will always say
Lost and found; ailing wanderers
Healers always say
Whores and angels; men with problems
Leavers always say
Broken hearted; separated
Orphans always say
War creators; racial haters
Preachers always say
Distant fathers; fallen warriors
Givers always say
Pilgrim saints; lonely widows
Users always say
Fearful mothers; watchful doubters
Saviors always say

Sometimes I cannot forgive
These days, mercy cuts so deep
If the world was how it should be, maybe I could get some sleep
While I lay, I dream we're better,
Scales were gone and faces light
When we wake, we hate our brother
We still move to hurt each other
Sometimes I can close my eyes,
And all the fear that keeps me silent
Falls below my heavy breathing,
What makes me so badly bent?
We all have a chance to murder
We all feel the need for wonder
We still want to be reminded
That the pain is worth the thunder
Sometimes when I lose my grip,
I wonder what to make of heaven
All the times I thought to reach up
All the times I had to give
Babies underneath their beds
Hospitals that cannot treat
All the wounds that money causes,
All the comforts of cathedrals
All the cries of thirsty children,
This is our inheritance
All the rage of watching mothers,
This is our greatest offense

Oh my God
Oh my God
Oh my God

Lead singer Dan Haseltine's comments:
“I think there are more lyrics in that one song than there were on our entire last record,” Haseltine says of Oh My God. “People all have their reasons for crying out to God. Some of those are really deep, deep doubts, and one of the questions in that third verse where it asks whether Jesus is real or not. Growing up in the church, I was scared to death to ask that question, because I didn’t know whether the Gospel could stand up to the scrutiny. There are times when I wrestle with that even now, but it’s a question that needs to be asked.”

John Piper and Joel Osteen

Last week in community group I was directed to a couple of youtube.com links that I really wanted to share.

The first is on Joel Osteen, who myself watched on TV one Sunday morning while home sick. While watching I couldn't get past the perfect teeth, the perfect coiffed hair, the elaborate delivery. In my mind, if he was trying to sell me a car, I would have been very skeptical. But instead he is sellling Jesus, and if you don't know your Bible it is easy to get sucked in by the pizzazz of the show he puts on. But he is selling a false gospel, known as the prosperity gospel...in other words, Christians are not supposed to be sick or suffer or have bad things happen to them. The are supposed to be rich and drive Mercedes and retire early. But I ask you, where does it say that in the Bible? Watch and see for yourself...

Joel Osteen Said What?

The prosperity gospel sells...think about how many books O'Steen has sold, how many "Prayer of Jabez" books Bruce Wilkinson sold, how many people go and see Benny Hinn.

Now here is John Piper's commentary on the prosperity gospel, given to a speech at UCF in Birmingham.

John Piper on the prosperity gospel

Tell me if you feel convicted...