Master the Little
Things
June 3, 2002
I just watched the Los Angeles Lakers defeat the
Sacramento Kings in game seven of the Western Conference NBA
championship game. For the first time in playoff history a
conference championship game was decided in overtime.
Ultimately the difference in the game wasn't the
overpowering presence of Shaq or the amazing shooting of Kobe
Bryant. It wasn't even the clutch play of Sacramento point guard
Mike Bibby. Nor was it the fact that Sacramento center Vlade
Divac fouled out in the forth quarter and watched helplessly
from the sidelines.
The game was decided by something every fan would
assume a professional player would have down cold. Foul
shooting. That's right. The Kings were hurt by their foul
shooting -- they missed 14 of 30 attempts--that's less than 50%
at the line. Had the Kings made one more foul shot in regulation
play they would have won. What's amazing is that in the regular
season they were an excellent foul shooting team.
It just goes to show you that under pressure it's
the little things that make the difference between winning and
losing. They make the difference between going on to the next
level and going home.
The Apostle Paul liked to use sports analogies. He urged all
followers of Jesus to discipline their lives like an athlete in
training (1 Corinthians 9:24-27). And how do champions train?
They practice the little things, like foul shooting, over and
over again. Why? So that when the pressure is on they'll do what
they've practiced thousands of times when there was no pressure.
Every day you and I have to make a fresh decision.
We must choose to do something as seemingly insignificant as
spending time alone with God in prayer and reading the word.
Why? So that when we face a severe test we'll be ready to
respond with the kind of faith we've been developing on a daily
basis.
As Mighty Men of God our commitments are
simple--not always easy to fulfill--but simple just the same. By
making God a daily priority we're preparing for the day when
we'll stand at the free throw line. The pressure will be on--but
we'll be ready.
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