When I am officiating basketball, one of the hardest things for me to do is ‘filter the noise’ – coaches, fans/parents, players, self – everybody has constructive and often destructive advice for me.
With over 40 years of playing experience, 10 years of coaching, and almost 15 years of officiating, I know this game – better than most of the people generating that noise.
To be the best official, my constant challenge is to keep that noise in perspective. To listen to your officiating partners, to the knowledgeable coaches. To ignore the fans and coaches who only care about their team’s ‘W’.
As a follower of Christ the challenge is similar: the Enemy creates noise to distract me from what I love. Digital media has exploded the sources of ‘constructive’ but mostly destructive advice the world wants to give me, not that there was a shortage earlier in my life before the Internet.
Yet, God created me in His image. After 50 years of living both in and out of His grace, I know this game. I’d like to say better than most but the more you know the Enemy’s gameplan, the more humble you become. You know how easy you fail. You know the vast arsenal of tricks and traps the Enemy sets to separate you from the One who loves you, from the One you were designed to love!
To be the best follower of Christ, my constant challenge is to keep THAT noise in perspective. To listen to my brothers. To study and to recognize the voice of the One who loves me. To ignore the fans and coaches of this world who with endless yammer try to wrap my head around an axle. To ignore the world, who in the end only care about my eternal ‘Loss’, the biggest of ‘Ls’.
I would read this book to my kids when they were young. It captures this challenge better than anything I’ve heard or read. I find myself rereading this book in my head often!