Discipline to Win

However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me — the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

– Acts 20:24

The Super Bowl — one of the world’s most-watched sporting events — is just a few weeks away. And what does it take to get there? The 2022-23 NFL schedule covers over 200 games as well as preseason matchups, the playoffs, and the Pro Bowl. And in addition to overcoming 18 weeks of hard-hitting competition, a date to The Big Game calls for intense discipline featuring countless hours of on-field practice, classroom study, and game-tape review.

Tom Brady understands how discipline and perseverance make all the difference between a champion and a runner-up. Love him or loath him, Brady — who’s won seven Super Bowl rings combined with the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — is widely regarded as the greatest quarterback in NFL history. And throughout his career he’s followed an intense, year-round training regimen involving diet and exercise, plus an ongoing focus on football fundamentals. Forty-five-year-old Brady takes nothing for granted, and he’s conditioned himself to expect the unexpected on the field.

“You push your body to the limits, but you have to train your body to deal with the limits,” he explains. “If you don't play to win don't play at all.”

The Bible also endorses the value of discipline and training. For Christ-followers, that means developing and using our God-given gifts and talents to make a positive difference in our community and the world. For example, we’re called to explain the basis of our faith to anyone who asks us. But how can we answer questions from a neighbor or co-worker if we don’t set aside time each day to read and study the Scriptures to know what we’re talking about? This discipline is also a great way to grow closer to God by developing the ability to listen for His voice. And in turn, it helps us discern right from wrong when faced by those modern-day scenarios that are so rarely black or white. 

Although the NFL wasn’t around 2,000 years ago, the sport of long-distance running was popular back then when the apostle Paul used it in 1 Corinthians to illustrate the value of spiritual discipline:

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”

It takes a disciplined regimen, and plenty of bruises along the way, to make it to the Super Bowl (and much more to win seven of them like Tom Brady). Likewise, it takes discipline and endurance for Christ-followers to become the faith-driven champions God wants us to be: 

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God — this is your true and proper worship,” we read in Romans 12. “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing, and perfect will.”