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{Heart4Teens.com}   *Trickle Down Arrogance* 

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Trickle-Down Arrogance

by Cody Hircock

The actions by athletes in sports work down from the pro's to the lowest level of competition. It's kind of an athletic trickle-down theory. Whatever habits or styles the professionals take part in, the athletes in the levels below imitate. The behavior "trickles-down."

Since these athletes are talented and successful enough to make it to the pro's, some of this makes sense. Many pro athletes have good work ethic, drive, focus, desire to win, and leadership abilities; those things should be copied. But it takes discernment to notice the character flaws in pro athletes and choose not to imitate those. To just view everything that professional athletes do as acceptable because they are talented is ridiculous.

One bad habit that has "trickled down" all the way to the lowest levels of competition is arrogant celebration. Football is the most notorious. If you watch an NFL game, you'll see player make even an average tackle and then get up and run to an open area of the field to make sure every fan and every camera gets an unobstructed view of him in all his glory. Athletes rarely make a good play and go back to their teammates to celebrate and congratulate everyone on a successful team effort. Instead, they run off somewhere and perform some ridiculous dance, leaving their teammates behind, so that everyone will know that all the glory should be given to them for the success of the play. Thanks to imitation and the trickle-down theory, fans now have the opportunity to see this even in Pee Wee football games.

It happened at my high school. We were playing our cross-town rivals, and they had a very talented wide receiver. All week, we prepared for him and emphasized the importance of making good tackles so he couldn't break free for big yardage. As one of the starting cornerbacks, I took this responsibility seriously and personally. On Friday night, we came out to play before the largest and loudest crowd we had seen all season. We were energized, prepared, and we held the receiver to his season low of yardage and catches.

I remember one play in particular, where he caught a short pass and I came up and made a good tackle and the play gained no yards. I was excited and instead of celebrating with my teammates on a successful team play, I taunted the receiver by pushing his head back down as he was trying get up. I wanted some glory and attention for what I considered to be a good play. At the time, I didn't see anything wrong with this. Looking back on it now, I can see what a selfish attitude I had, attempting to divert all the attention to myself at the expense of another player.

Some argue that players just get excited and don't mean any harm. There's nothing wrong with getting excited about a play, and there's nothing wrong with celebrating success. The problems emerge when the celebration turns into a prideful, taunting show that focuses on individual accomplishments. As Christians, we can't condone or participate in actions that reflect arrogance, self-centeredness, or pride.

In Philippians 2, Paul reminds: "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others." He goes on in verse 5 to tell us that we should imitate Jesus' humility.

Instead of going into a game or a season with an attitude of, "How can I receive more glory and attention?" an athlete can begin with, "How can I make my teammates better and show my appreciation for them?" In Matthew 22:39, Jesus commands us to love others as ourselves. I find it hard to imagine that some of these professional athletes love anyone or anything as much as they love themselves.

Although it's true that professional athletes should be held accountable for their behavior on and off the court, Charles Barkley was ultimately correct when he said athletes should not be considered role models simply because they can play a sport well. It's a relief to know that Jesus is our ultimate example. He is the one we should imitate, not the professional athletes we see on TV. And if Jesus' attitudes trickle down into our hearts, everybody wins.

Cody Hircock

WisdomWorks Ministries Copyright © 2003

To read more articles like this visit: PlanetWisdom.com

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LET?S GO SURFING DUDE!

~ Drawing the Big Picture

Have you seen "Finding Nemo" yet? Did you know that one of the guys responsible for the movie is a deeply committed Christian? Check out his story at this site.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/cr/2003/004/2.34.html

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Thought For The Day:

"Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless." --Mother Teresa

Verse for the Day:

"She opens her mouth in skillful and Godly wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness." --Proverbs 31:26

Teen's Thought For The Day:

"Keep company with good people and good people you will imitate."

Parent?s Thought For The Day

"If you want a baby, have a new one. Don't baby the old one." --Jessamyn West

Coach?s Thought For The Day

"There are three types of players. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen, and those who wonder what happened." --Tommy Lasorda

Deep Thought For The Day:

"Santanism: The belief that when you die your soul gets stuck in the chimney."

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ALL-STAR Ministry

--The Youth Church of Faith Community Church in Janesville, WI

If you are in 6-12th grade and live in the southern Wisconsin/northern Illinois area and would like to check us out, we meet every Sunday night from 6:00-8:30 PM at Faith Community Church which is located at 2931 Lucerene Dr. in Janesville, WI. (About 3 blocks south-east of The Skating Place.)

Currently we have students from Fort Atkinson, Milton, Janesville Craig, Janesville Parker, Marshall, Orfordville, Clinton, Beloit Memorial, Beloit Turner, South Beloit, and Hononegah. E-mail me back if you have any questions about our weekly meetings or would like to come to any of our events that are listed below... We have way too much fun and then, most importantly, talk about issues that are relevant to you as a teenager.

THIS WEEK:

All-Stars: 8/31 -- The Hatred Within

The Outlet: 8/27  Attending the Revelations Class at Faith Community Church

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Summer Challenge continues on Friday September 5th at Tedi's house!

The Summer Challenge is for those students who would like to develop good spiritual habits.  We have been meeting every other Friday night from 6:30- 8:30 PM  throughout the summer.  Those that make it through the challenge will be rewarded with a special all-expense paid two day trip at the end of the summer.

Meetings will take place on the following dates:  6/20, 6/27, 7/11, 7/25, 8/8, 8/22, & 9/5

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Upcoming Topics:

9/7        Fresh Start (Also welcoming new 6th graders)

9/14 Creation/Evolution   7:00 -- 8:30 pm

9/19      Special Creation/Evolution   7pm -- 8:30 pm

9/20      Special Creation/Evolution   9 am - Noon

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All-Stars has extended its time to 6:00 - 8:30 PM on Sunday nights. 6:00 - 6:30 will be time for the youth to chat and discuss anything they want with the youth leaders or each other. 6:30 - 7:00 PM will be for games or fun activities and then 7:00 - 8:30 PM will be for the lesson and discussion time. Students are still welcome to "hang out" after 8:30 PM if they want, as the leaders are usually at the church until at least 10:00 PM, and some nights even later. (For the past couple of months the students have continually complained that we are running out of time before we get to really discuss the topics in full and asked if we could have longer teaching times... I know, most of you are probably now getting back up off the floor from the shock. have been most encouraged that the teens have been wanting to stay longer to be able to discuss the lessons more fully.)

The Outlet: "Get plugged into Jesus Christ!" (Teen Cell Groups)

Wednesday night community groups for teens. The groups are limited to no more than ten teens and will be originally split into Jr. High and High School ages. This night is for those teens who want to dig deeper than what we do in All-Stars, but may not be ready to be a part of the Extreme Teens. These cell groups will also be doing special activities with each other as the year goes on to build community.

Extreme Teens" (formerly the Core Group) meets from 5:00 - 6:00 PM at the church. This group is very extensive with weekly homework, memorization, service projects, etc. Students interested in this group will have to fill out an application, provide references as to why others think they should be involved with this, and sign an agreement as to what is expected of them. (If your teen will also be attending All-Stars that night, they are encouraged to bring a sack lunch or snack to tide them over until 8:30.)

We are very excited at what God is doing with our youth!

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Author MICHAEL T. POWERS

www.Heart4Teens.com

Contributing Author to Chicken Soup for the Teen's Soul on Love and Friendship and 15 other inspirational books.

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20