Indirection

metzgerl

Aug 6

Written by James Bryan Smith, a contemporary theology professor and author. This is an excerpt from his book "The Good and Beautiful God."

Peyton Manning practiced indirection. He was the winning quarterback of Super Bowl XLI. It was a rainy night, and the ball was slippery. But Manning only fumbled once and threw one interception. Rex Grossman, the quarterback for the losing team, fumbled twice and was picked off twice—perhaps twice as bothered by the rain as Manning. A few weeks after the Super Bowl, a reporter discovered that every few weeks during the year Manning has his center (who snaps him the ball), Jeff Saturday, snap him water soaked footballs. He practices handling wet footballs so he will be ready in case it rains – even though his team plays half of ther games in a dome. Manning did what he could do (practice handling wet footballs over and over) to enable him to do what he could not without this preparation (play great in the rain.) We cannot change simply by saying "I want to change." We have to examine what we think (our narratives) and how we practice (the spiritual disciplines) and who we are interacting with (our social context). If we change those things—and we can—then change will come naturally to us. This is why Jesus said his "yoke" was easy. If we thing the things he thought, do the things he did and spend tim with likeminded people, we will become like him, and it will not be difficult. If someone had asked Peyton Manning after the Super Bowl, "So, was it hard handling that wet football?" he would have likely said, "No. I practice that all the time when no one is watching." That is the perfect illustration of indirection.

Prayer:

Written by Apollonius of Rome (?-185), a Roman senator, apologist, and Christian martyr.

O Lord Jesus Christ, grant us a measure of your Spirit. Help us to obey your teaching, soothe anger, cultivate pity, overcome desire, increase love, cast off sorrow, shun vainglory, renounce revenge, and not be afraid of death. Let us ever entrust our spirit to the everlasting God who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and rules forever and ever. Amen.