Lessons from footballers

                                                                    

                                                                                    Picture Credit: BBC

I thought I had more time to write this post. A month with twenty-eight days tricked my brain into thinking the 5^th of March was further away. Now that I think about it, my mind regularly plays that trick on me... there’s plenty of time.

Hold that thought whilst I change the subject...

I had an interesting experience recently, and it happened in the showers at my local gym. Picture the scene... a row of individual shower cubicles, water running, steam rising - so far, so normal. Mid-lather, I heard loud young men in neighbouring cubicles, shouting to each other across the divides, their voices raised above the cascading water.

My first reaction was one of irritation... do they really need to yell like that... can’t it wait? They were only talking about football after all. The footy chat went on for a while, and then the interesting bit... one minute they were swapping opinions about the beautiful game, and then with neither pause nor interlude they began praying. Full-on, loud as you like, top of their voice praying. They prayed that every aspect of their lives would honour God and called out for his blessing, wisdom, and guidance. I ended up showering for longer than intended, and I can report that these lads could really pray... without ceasing, it seemed. When they did eventually cease, they simply stopped and returned to footy chat.

The gym is near the Crystal Palace training ground, and it’s not unusual to see some players there. As a fan of the mighty Eagles, it’s always fun to recognise one of the stars. I don’t know who the voices in the showers belonged to, but increasingly I’ve noticed some players talking openly about their faith. Joel Ward, now at Swansea, was the team captain last season. At his last dressing room talk before he left the club, he took the chance to share his faith with his teammates. It’s on the web if you’d like to hear it. Given that Palace had just beaten Manchester City to win the FA Cup, he could have just revelled in that, yet he talked about his faith.

Mark Guehi, now at Manchester City, routinely talks about his faith (and literally wears it on his sleeve - see the picture above), as does Eberechi Eze, now at Arsenal. They don’t separate football from faith; they fully integrate it and talk about both subjects whenever an opportunity arises. In post-match and media interviews, they don’t miss a chance. They chat about faith as easily as football.

These are wealthy, highly successful young men at the top of their game. Guehi and Eze both play for England. Careers in professional football are short; around the age of thirty, they will ‘retire’, with many years ahead of them to change direction and do new things.                                       

It would be so easy for Joel, Mark and Eberechi to focus on their game, enjoy their riches and success whilst relegating faith to the private areas of their lives... as easy for them as it is for us. Do we integrate or separate faith within our lives... from our careers or from our writing? After I’ve raised my family... after I’ve retired... after I’ve established myself as a writer... after... after... after. It’s easy to put dividing lines between our faith and our ‘day jobs’ or to persuade ourselves that better opportunities will arise in the future.

Many readers of this blog are both Christians and writers, so what opportunities do we have to bring the two together and shout about it? Are we standing in the shower calling out to God for our writing to honour him... if not, what are we waiting for? 

 

 “What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the rooftops.”

Matthew 10:27