Around where I live, the New England Patriots football team
is for obvious reasons the talk of the town.
They recently won the AFC Championship, and are heading to their 11th
Super Bowl, 9th with the current head coach-QB combination, and will
be shooting for their 6th championship in a few weeks.
This run of success under their future Hall of Fame Head
Coach Bill Belichick and Quarterback Tom Brady is far above and beyond what any
team past or present in the sport of pro football, and most other sports for
that matter, has been able to achieve.
Their success is the envy of many a fan throughout the rest of the
country. They are despised by some out
of jealousy or some other reason, but I think at least respected by most for
what they have achieved.
Lots has been written about them and why they are so
successful.
The purpose of this post, however, is to show what we can
learn from their example in terms of our own spiritual lives, our walk with the
Lord, as Christian believers. Here are 12
(the jersey number of their quarterback 😊)
lessons we can learn from them, in no particular order of importance.
1)
The never ending well of victory The Patriots seemingly never get tired or
sick of winning. Each experience is
unique. They want more and more. It never gets old for them. We, too, must never tire of walking with the
victorious Lord. Each day, He has new
opportunities for us to be victorious.
Each day, He can help us overcome something, or inspire us to help
someone else do the same. It never gets
old, and we must never stop striving for victory in His name.
2)
Focus on character and model behavior Rarely do we hear the Patriots talk bad
about an opponent. Rarely do we hear
them bad-mouth each other. They talk
and act uprightly. As with any group,
there have been a few exceptions, but for the most part, Patriot players have
been, at least in public, good, upstanding men of virtue. Character matters. The Lord wishes to achieve wonders in us, but
to receive those gifts, we must be men and women of virtue, or at least aspire
to be such with His help.
3)
Focus on the group over the individual
The Patriots coach talks about how there is no “I” in the word “team”. In our spiritual lives, we, too, are never
meant do it alone. We have the Body of
Christ to help us in our individual journeys with the Lord. The journey is meant to be taken together. No man or woman can do it alone. If we put our needs second to those of our
families, or religious communities, we can be assured of many graces in our
spiritual life.
4)
Focus on the intellect It is not just about being the toughest
or most athletic. The Patriots value
players who are smart, who can study and learn well. Each week is a different game plan, and they
must be able to adapt, and learn quickly.
They seldom make mental mistakes in games. God gave us our intellects to
help us discern His plan for our lives.
It cannot be all just based on emotion and feeling, though they have
their place.
5)
Focus on the present moment The Patriots coach never likes to talk much
about past teams, even if they were successful as most of his have been. He also never likes to talk much about
previous opponents, other games, or future opponents beyond the one next on the
schedule. In our walk with the Lord,
while at times it is good to remember with joy all He has done, or to dream of
what He will do in the future, we should ground ourselves in the reality that
is today and seek His will there.
6)
Keeping things private that should be The Patriots are notorious for keeping any
disagreements or arguments between team members and/or coaches beyond closed
doors. It is not necessary to air “dirty
laundry”. We believers do not need to
reveal to the world our sins, nor the sins of others. We should strive to lift others up, not tear
them down, and when we do, the Lord will be sure to lift us up.
7)
Being even keel The Patriots’ ability to keep calm and cool
under trying circumstances is noteworthy, whether it be the weather, being down
by a large score, a hostile crowd, or a bad call or break going against
them. They play with an even keel that
is the envy of many. We, too, must be
careful not to get too high or too low in our walk with the Lord. We must not strive too hard for spiritual
“highs” but not get too desolate when times are tough. He is there with us.
8)
Actions speak louder than words When they win or lose, the Patriots typically
say little. You don’t get many
“soundbites” out of them. This is good
advice for the spiritual life. Let us
let our virtuous actions do most of the talking and when it does come time to
talk, make sure the focus is not on us, but on God.
9)
Stability The Patriots coach has been there a long
time. So has their QB. The owner has been there even longer. When there is longevity at the top in any
organization, it creates a culture of stability which is crucial to sustained
excellence. Is the Lord on “top” of
us? The longer we have Him as our head,
the better off we are. If He is only on
top for short periods of our life, we will stumble and fall.
10)
Flexibility The
Patriots design a different game plan each week, depending on who the opponent
is. The players are willing to
adapt. In our walk with the Lord, we
must learn to adapt to new circumstances and be open to doing things
differently at times for the sake of His Kingdom. This may seem like the opposite of #9
stability, but I do believe a certain stability allows for greater
flexibility. This is true in all aspects
of our lives, including our spiritual ones.
11)
They win the close games. Many of the Patriots’ victories in this run
of success in big games have been by small margins. In these big games, they are usually playing
against a team with as much talent as them, but the Patriots seem to almost
always come out on top. And in the end,
that is all that matters, winning or losing.
In the spiritual life, we are either winners or losers. We are either going backwards or we are going
forward. We will wind up in hell or in
heaven. There are no points for being
“close”; we either make it, or we don’t.
We should realize sometimes the battle will be tough, things will not
always go our way, but all that matters is where we wind up in the end. Never give up.
12)
The pursuit of excellence What people respect (and sadly what some
envy) about the Patriots is their sustained excellence. They may not always win the ultimate
championship in their sport, but they do more than anyone else. Even if they do not in a given season, they
are usually close to it. In our lives,
we must strive, with God’s help, to be excellent people; men and women, full of
life, love, joy, and virtuous living, with the goal, and ultimately, success at
being graced to live forever with Him and the Saints and angels in heaven.
Whether we are fans of the Patriots or not, they are worthy
of respect. We see in them
characteristics we wish to see in ourselves, our families, our organizations,
and our communities.
The Christian is called to honor all that is good and
noble. May we do that here and take
what we can from their example to improve and deepen our walk with the Lord.
