Choose Your Path: When the Game Tests Your Character 🏀🙏🏿
A young hooper I mentor, let's call him Milton, is 12 years old. Milt is a die hard baller, a hard worker and a high charactered young dude.
While Milt is high-charactered, he's still just 12 years old and is influential and wants to fit in and be accepted. Because that's the case, Milt, has started to cuss. As Milt explained to me, he only does it when he's frustrated on the court.
The Compromise 🔄
Milt felt that him hard-core cussing (F-bombs and all of that) was allowed on the court, and because of his character, he would not do it off of the court.
I had been working with Milt for years and never had he cussed prior to this, so, when he explained his rationale for his mid game F-bomb tirades, I knew that was not who he was, so I pressed him even more as I asked why all of sudden did he go from never cussing, to hard core F-bombs?
Milt courageously explained, that everyone on his team did it, so, he just started doing it as well.
The Fork in the Road 🛣️
While Milt did not realize it at the time, but he was at a spiritual fork in the road. As I did with Milt, I hope his experience also causes you to take a timeout and discover where your forks in the road are. Before I finish Milt's story, peep these verses:
"Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, 'I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness because you will have the light that leads to life.'" - John 8:12 (NLT)
"Then Jesus said, 'I am light to the world, and those who embrace me will experience life-giving light, and they will never walk in darkness.'" - John 8:12 (TPT)
"Enter through the narrow gate because the wide gate and broad path is the way that leads to destruction—nearly everyone chooses that crowded road!" - Matthew 7:13 TPT
Back to Milt's Story 🏀
Milt, to the credit of both him and his parents had established a standard for who he is as a young man overall and basketball player as well. As he was trying to find himself as a competitor, most others on his team were not traveling on the same path as he was.
Because Milt was so young and inexperienced, he did not realize that the path of light he had been traveling was narrow - were not a lot of cars on that road.
As Milt continued on with his team, he was not prepared for the fork that would require him to either travel by himself (not cuss), or be accepted and included while traveling down a road that contradicted who he was becoming (hard core F-bombs).
Your Fork in the Road 🤔
While in Milt's case it was just profanity, as you arrive at your fork, maybe it's something else:
Serving your teammates
Not backstabbing your players if you are coach
Remaining faithful romantically
Not taking shortcuts
Being authentic on social media
Having a godly social life
Or something else
Whatever your fork is, you must be prepared to travel the narrow road that is often lonely. And as you consider which direction you're going to go, consider:
"And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?" - Mark 8:36-37 (NLT)
That said, while the path of life giving light that God promises maybe lonely at times, it promises you peace and will lead you straight to the finish line God has for you.
"A life frittered away disgusts God; he loves those who run straight for the finish line." - Proverbs 15:9
Parting Perspective Pivot 🙏🏿
As you continue on the path that God has for you, the one most others will choose not to travel, do so without carrying the weight of guilt that comes from thinking you are turning your back on your people - those that choose not to travel down the path that you do. You are not turning your back, you have just committed to being obedient to God and following His life-giving path of light. It just so happens that by doing so, it is taking you further away from the path of darkness that others have made the choice to continue to travel down.