I’m not sure if this verse is true, I thought at first. After all, I had accomplished things in life long before I had trusted in Christ. Yet Jesus was clear: “You can do nothing without Me.” Those are hard words. In fact, there are many coaches who don’t believe in Christ, and they have been able to help players become better players and people. Many of them are coaches at prominent schools; they have great jobs, an abundance of material possessions, a terrific athletic program, and championship trophies. So what did Jesus mean when he said we can do nothing apart from him?

A couple nights ago, I was sitting with my two oldest kids watching "Remember the Titans." This is a great movie — one I love to watch — but my children made me think about one particular part in the movie. The team was at training camp and Coach Boone was trying to get them to work harder. He spoke very rough to his team and did not let them have water during practice. Many of us in the coaching profession would call this "Old School," but to my kids it was a different story. My daughter asked me a tough question, "Daddy, would you ever talk or treat your team like that?" Pow! Smack! Bam! Like Batman of old, upside the head, it hit me. I was just like that at times. I was a destructive mess with my team.

As Christian competitors, we realize that God has called us to serve, but do we understand that we should be consumed to serve? Is there a consuming fire that burns in us to serve others around us who are hurting and to help those who need to experience the love of Christ through us? We serve because the ultimate purpose of serving is to glorify Christ. Rick Warren said, “We serve God by serving others. The world defines greatness in terms of power, possessions, prestige, and position. In our self-serving culture with its ‘me first’ mentality, acting like a servant is not a popular concept.” In the athletic world, everyone struggles to some degree with the “me first” mentality.