Roll Pride

Players from an Alabama football team woke up Tuesday morning reliving plays in slow motion like a lowlight reel that wouldn't stop looping --  tackles they should have made, catches they could have broken up, and passes that missed their mark. 

Coaches woke up running mental tapes of schemes they should have run and play calls they wish they had made. Outcomes that are now out of reach. Because the game is over. Time has run out. 

Some people live their whole lives this way -- always reliving and regretting; never repairing or repenting.

Though the contemporary church has largely gone away from them, my upbringing in the church included the regular use of creeds and confessions. A particularly pertinent one, in speaking to God, includes these words: “We have sinned against You in thought, word and deed; by what we have done and by what we have left undone.”

The things that replay in my mind tend to fall into one of those two categories — things I’ve done and things I should have done. Chances are, yours do too.

The done: That betrayal of trust. The insensitive comment that seemed funny at the time. The cold shoulder you’ve been giving. The addiction you coddle at others' expense. 

The undone: The apology never extended. Encouraging words unspoken. A phone number never dialed. Generosity hoarded. 

But if you’re reading this today, your clock has not run out. The game is not over. Chapters of the story have yet to be written. 

And you only have one enemy between where you are and where you want to be. One obstacle between you and a game-winning touchdown. Pride. Pride is at the root of nearly every offense — either pride offended or pride unleashed. And pride keeps us from saying the hard things that need to be said and doing the hard things that need to be done. Truth be told, pride is the only reason they are hard!

"Roll Tide” is the rallying cry of the Alabama Crimson Tide. Too often, it seems, “Roll Pride” is ours. 

Though we would never be caught dead in a “Roll Pride” t-shirt, it is our home team by default. But God has a better word for us. In his first letter, Peter writes, “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility towards one another.” (1Pet 5:5b)

And then he gives us a solid reason why. Because "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

2017 would be a great year to ditch that “Roll Pride” game day gear. Put on humility instead. And when you find yourself at the line of scrimmage in life, you’ll find God lined up beside you rather than across from you.

So stop reliving and regretting. And start repenting and repairing. It all starts with humility.

Lesson: Humility leads to both growth and grace.

Application:
1.  Identify the first "done" and the first "undone" that come to mind.
2. Write the first step in your plan of action to right wrongs and do the undone.