Coaches Devotional: Clout-Chasing Coach, or Purpose-Chasing Coach?

"Are you a clout-chasing coach or a purpose-chasing coach? You can't be both. Pick a side."

As you authentically encounter God on your journey, the fruits of His Spirit will transform you and your thinking. You will transition from being a 'paper chaser' and a 'clout and status chaser' to becoming a 'purpose chaser.'

This pivot is radical and contradicts the world's way of doing things. The world says, relentlessly chase paper, and maybe along the way, your purpose will follow. But if not, you have what matters most – the bag.

While that's the case, God leads you to utilize your talent, experiences (both good and bad), and personality, to chase His purposes. Trusting that He will provide the paper needed to live in His purposes. While this is easy to understand, it can be quite difficult to execute!

📖 Isaiah 6:8 -New Living Translation - Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.”

"In the spirit of Isaiah 6:8, the Holy Spirit frequently will affirm you that to keep doing what God has purposed you to do despite the many hardships you face, and trust me, they will be many! It affirms by speaking to you with this, ' If not you, then who?' It is as though God is saying, 'look around. Do you see anyone who is equipped, qualified, and committed doing what you do?' The answer to that I’m sure is, no, not many, and not enough. Coach I want to remind you that basketball is your passion, experience, talent, and strength.

🫱🏾‍🫲🏻God has revealed to me and wants me to share with you this:

‼️ Basketball serves as a sweet spot for those who are committed competitors of the sport - God’s children to be properly introduced and connected to Him in a real and relational way! When you consider the peaks and valleys of elite competition that are unfolded in such a public way, along with the fake love, inauthenticity, haters, and cancel culture-influenced fans and spectators in that environment, they are in search of a foundation, unconditional support, and love to navigate such an unstable, sporadic, and at times toxic environment. This is why when God is presented the right way by the right person, many are quite receptive. The right person is one who has accepted the calling on their life to be an ambassador for Christ, as stated in 2 Corinthians 5:20 - 'So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”'

‼️ Because of the worldly opportunities the game of basketball can provide, it attracts a high volume of paper chasers and clout and status chasers that are ungodly, greedy opportunistic vultures. These wolves in sheep’s clothing are so good at playing the role of a godly and caring person that most cannot tell who is God’s ambassador from who isn’t. While that’s the case, make no mistake about it, the masses who are in influential positions are those with a devilish spirit who embrace and take part in creating a spirit of darkness to cover up their ungodly agendas. They aren’t kingdom builders; they are kingdom deconstructors.

That said, God is saying, ‘Coach, trainer, or leader after my own heart, consider 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 (MSG) and John 3:20 (NLT) as you continue to do My work in the dark climate of competitive basketball.

📖 John 3:20 - 'All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed.'

📖 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 - 'Don’t become partners with those who reject God. How can you make a partnership out of right and wrong? That’s not partnership; that’s war. Is light best friends with dark? Does Christ go strolling with the Devil? Do trust and mistrust hold hands? Who would think of setting up pagan idols in God’s holy Temple? But that is exactly what we are, each of us a temple in whom God lives. God himself put it this way: “I’ll live in them, move into them; I’ll be their God and they’ll be my people. So leave the corruption and compromise; leave it for good,” says God. 'Don’t link up with those who will pollute you.'

God: Coach, trainer, or leader , I have qualified you to be my light in a dark place. Again, I ask you, if not you, then who will it be?

Our response: 'Lord, here I am. I am honored you chose me! I will do what you called me to do or die trying!'"