About the Sport Principle
In a sport like hockey, both movement and direction are very important, but for us, movement is much more important. Movement and the momentum that comes with it always comes from within. External circumstances are, therefore, irrelevant.
Constantly changing direction and being unpredictable is directly related to success on the hockey pitch. In the same way that an opposition hockey team dictates the movement of our team, our opponents in life, whether they are circumstances or people, create movement in us. Whereas friends bring comfort, opponents always bring movement. Resistance creates strength. This is as true for an aeroplane achieving ‘lift-off’ as it is for a ship in the sea, as it is for an athlete at the gym, as it is in every one of our lives. We need the difficult circumstances to force the change of direction necessary to take our lives to the next level sometimes. Many of us can trace the track that our lives are now on to key pivotal moments of setback or rejection or failure that directly caused a rethink of our key strategic priorities. The college interview rejection, the relational breakdown, the financial setback, the health scare or whatever, all resulted in a change of attitude that led to a change of priorities that led to a change of behaviour that led to a better life. Without an opponent in life, our present is permanent. We have no reason to improve our lives. So, with this in mind, we need to embrace hardship and be grateful to resistance for producing something in us that we need there, and that we cannot otherwise have in our lives.
Application to Life
We cannot overstate the importance of movement when it comes to life. The classic example here is the analogy of the parked car, which cannot be steered with the handbrake on. Many of us try to live this way: parked up by the side of the road in our marriages, relationships, careers, or worse still, our relationships with God, as if waiting for divine intervention, looking to ‘out there’ for what is already within us. Sooner or later, somebody has to have the courage to break that stand-off, and take the handbrake off. A car can be steered with one finger, as long as there is movement. It doesn’t have to be going fast. We can be crawling along in 1stgear, but if we wait for all the lights across town to be on green, we’ll never set off! I often wonder whether or not the Biblical King David was ever tempted to write a ‘thank you’ letter to the Philistines for allowing him to fight Goliath – because of all that happened to him as a result. In a similar way, perhaps we should consider the same with some of the opponents that life sends our way. Clearly, it may not be appropriate to send an actual letter, but the thought process may be helpful for us in realigning our thinking to a Godly perspective about the opposition in our lives. With this new perspective, perhaps we can simply use some fancy footwork, like an expert hockey player, to move past the problem, and return to it in time with fresh insight, and perhaps even a grateful heart.
“As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.”
1 Samuuel 17:48
Without an opponent, your present is permanent!
