| Christianity.com - It takes commitment, dedication to your teammates, to win an NBA championship. You have to be selfless when you're trying to compete at such a high level. It can't be about you. The agenda is not "what you can get out of it," but rather "what you can do to help the team be successful."
For the Lakers back then in that "Showtime" era, the guys were dedicated. The guys were committed. They were dedicated to the game, but committed to each other. The guys were focused. They were self-governed, self-motivating. We didn't really need a coach to get there and tell us what we needed to work on. We monitored one another. Accountability was a huge thing.
In Biblical terms, it was more of what we call "being discipled." From an athletic standpoint, there was a lot of discipleship. It was a situation where we had mentors. People held one another accountable to make sure that everyone is doing his job according to the big plan of head coach Pat Riley. Veteran players like Michael Cooper, Byron Scott, Kurt Rambis and Magic Johnson were the mentors on those great Laker teams.
There's a lot more agendas in today's game. It's not just about winning the game. It's not necessarily playing for the sake of competition. It's a business. From one standpoint, the business model has been set and established from the league itself - which means the players are treated like property.
We have a division called NBA Properties that licenses all the various NBA paraphernalia that are marketed and marketable. But a lot of times what happens is that we have players treated like pieces of property - just another commodity. So therefore, when the NBA is buying and setting rights of players and their likenesses of this, that and the other, the players see this mentality. Then the mentality of the players is "Look, we're going to try to market ourselves, sell ourselves and not worry about the commitment level to the team and each other."
That's how a player's personal hierachy, or pyramid gets built upon self, not upon love. It's about what I can get, not what I can give. It's built upon lust as opposed to love, self as opposed to giving. This model that we have is totally centered around man and his own agenda, which is the spirit of the world. And it's not just in athletics; you see it at every level of society.
I go around the country and millions of people have heard me say this: "You can't be afraid to say, 'Follow me as I follow Christ.' You can't be afraid to step up and put yourself on the line and have someone look to imitate and emulate something inside of you. You can't be afraid to be transparent." Unfortunately, that's not what people are doing or welcoming in their lives today. They're not saying, "Yes, I want someone to disciple me. I want someone to get "in" my life."
In the sports world, it would be like wanting a coach to help you get better. The coach says, "Hey, help me, help you." In the Kingdom of God, It's the same thing. Get trained, get discipled, and then go out and affect your team, your community, affect the world that you live in and around.
Faith is so important. We have to remember that Jesus is on our side. We can't get distraught by circumstances that aren't going in a way we are planning or hoping for right now. We've got to keep pressing through. The Bible says, "This too shall pass." That means storms are going to come, and storms are going to go. But you can't expect God to move in your life if you're not spending time with Him reading the Bible and praying a change in. You should lock horns with a Christian brother or sister, someone that's got some "faith on them," and start praying a change through. Let your faith being into existence.
In Romans chapter four, the Bible says that Abraham spoke things that were not as if they were. He spoke into a situation, the death of Sara's womb, and he called forth life. Then the Bible says, Abraham considered it as done. He wasn't concerned about the circumstances. Because God told him it was done, to Abraham it was over. It was a dead issue. We just have to see the Bible for what it is and see Jesus for who He is - and that's someone who's able to change our lives and our circumstances.
NBA Ironman AC Green is a three-time NBA Champion who has played in more consecutive games than anyone else in league history. He is also the founder and president of the AC Green Youth Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to helping youth of the U.S. develop to their fullest potential. If you would like information on AC Green's Programs for Youth, call 1-800-AC-YOUTH, or visit the foundation's web site at www.acgreen.com
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