What Life is All About..

John Wooden, former basketball coach at UCLA, died today. He was 99 years old. Apparently he was a really good basketball coach, but I think this video says more about him than his record does. I feel so blessed to have seen this, and I hope everyone who watches it will feel the same.

Wow. What an amazing man. He had one college coaching job for 28 years, was married to the only woman he ever kissed for 53 years, and lived in the same city for 61 years.  He was 14 the last time he used profanity and had his last drink in 1932. It’s strange that if someone lived this way in today’s world, many people would probably say they were too straitlaced. It’s so refreshing to see a man who followed God to the best of his ability and was a role model to so many people. I would definitely encourage everyone to read more about him, his pyramid of success, and his seven-point creed. I am so thankful for people like John Wooden; I’ve kind of just realize that a person doesn’t have to do some huge and spectacular thing with their lives to touch the lives of others.. following God is enough. Seeing the way this man lived his life makes me want to be a better person and reinforces the true reason why we’re all here.. to love.

Here are some of his quotes:

— “I have always tried to make it clear that basketball is not the ultimate. It is of small importance in comparison to the total life we live. There is only one kind of life that truly wins, and that is the one that places faith in the hands of the Savior.”

— “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”

— “If I were ever prosecuted for my religion, I truly hope there would be enough evidence to convict me”

— “Consider the rights of others before your own feelings, and the feelings of others before your own rights.”

— “Material possessions, winning scores, and great reputations are meaningless in the eyes of the Lord, because He knows what we really are and that is all that matters.”

— “There are many things that are essential to arriving at true peace of mind, and one of the most important is faith, which cannot be acquired without prayer.”

— “What you are as a person is far more important that what you are as a basketball player.”

— “You can’t live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.”

— “You can’t let praise or criticism get to you. It’s a weakness to get caught up in either one.”

— “Talent is God-given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.”

James 4:6

So.. you know when you reach that point where you haven’t been spending enough time with God and you just break? When you have this nagging feeling that you just need to stop being so bull-headed, stop getting in God’s way, stop being so distracted, and just shut up & listen? Well, I got to that point today. I love when God nags me.. not really while He’s in the process of nagging me, but after I give in, it’s a good thing. I’ve been struggling a LOT with anxiety lately.. not so much the past week, but it was really bad the week before that. When I’m in that state, it’s SO hard to get myself back to a stable place where I’m not freaking out, worrying, being agitated about something (or everything), or feeling like the universe is caving in on me. During my little chit chat with God today, I decided to give up and give it all to Him. I mean, He knows what’s going to happen anyway, so why would I try to trust myself to figure something out when he already has all the info? He’s got this covered. Duh.

I’m currently reading C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity. While reading this book, God smacked me upside the head and made me realize something… I have a problem with pride. Really? I didn’t even know I struggled with pride until I read the chapter about it in this book, but it’s so clear now. I think part of my anxiety problem is from being so concerned about myself  and my future all the time. Here’s an excerpt from the chapter:

“I do not think I have ever heard anyone who was not a Christian accuse himself of this vice. And at the same time I have very seldom met anyone, who was not a Christian, who showed the slightest mercy to it in others. There is no fault which makes a man more unpopular, and no fault which we are more unconscious of in ourselves. And the more we have it ourselves, the more we dislike it in others… According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.

Does this seem to you exaggerated? If so, think it over. I pointed out a moment ago that the more pride one had, the more one disliked pride in others. In fact, if you want to find out how proud you are the easiest  way is to ask yourself, ‘How much do I dislike it when other people snub me, or refuse to take any notice of me, or shove their oar in, or patronize me, or show off?’ The point is that each person’s pride is in competition with everyone else’s pride. It is because I wanted to be the big noise at the party that I am so annoyed at someone else being the big noise… Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. We say that people are proud of being rich, or clever, or good-looking, but they are not. They are proud of being richer, or cleverer, or better-looking than others. If everyone else became equally rich, or clever, or good-looking there would be nothing to be proud about. It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest.”

Wow. That really got me thinking about how prideful I am about certain things and about what kinds of things people are usually prideful about. Are we responsible for how attractive, smart, talented, rich, athletic, etc. we are? Umm, NO. That would be GOD who made us that way, who gave us those talents, who blessed us in those ways, who bestowed upon us His GRACE PLUS SOME. So why do we feel all high & mighty when we see someone who isn’t at the same level we’re at in regards to one of these areas? What’s crazy is that some people reach this point in regards to their salvation and being a Christian! “Well, I’M saved.. but SHE really needs to change some things.” I doubt these words rarely come out of people’s mouths, but I’m certain they cross people’s minds in some variation or another. It doesn’t make any sense whatsoever; whatever we possess, whether it be tangible or not, comes from God. But people don’t think of it that way. For some reason, whatever it is about ourselves that we value, instead of thanking God for it and making it a non-issue or using for His glory, we get all snooty and act like we’re responsible for it. Some people may say things like, “But I am responsible for my wealth.. I worked hard to earn my money!” or “I have big muscles, and I can bench press 2,394 pounds because I put the work in!” or “I get good grades because I’m smarter than most people.” (usually said in a pretentious tone as if they made themselves smart) Seriously? Who gave you the ability to work? Who gave your body all the intricacies necessary for building muscle and strength? Who blessed you with above-average intelligence? And if you have this money or this physical strength or intellect (or whatever else), what are you using it for? Sponsoring a child or donating to a service organization? Building houses for the homeless or helping with projects? Teaching children or developing a treatment for an illness? Helping anyone at all for the glory of God? Or just using it to glorify yourself and follow your own agenda?

According to Lewis, “The real test of being in the presence of God is, that you either forget about yourself altogether or see yourself as a small, dirty object. It is better to forget about yourself altogether.” I would have to agree with him to some extent; however, self-loathing is still self-worship, so even if you are always thinking poorly of yourself, you are still focused on yourself rather than on loving God and loving other people. So basically, we’re all somewhere on our own continuums of how we feel about ourselves when we shouldn’t even being on our own continuum at all; we should be on someone else’s continuum building them up, making them feel worthy, and letting them see more of God than of ourselves. Don’t get me wrong.. I don’t think we should just neglect ourselves. We are, after all, products of God’s creation, and I’m pretty sure He doesn’t call us to stupidity. We still need to take care of ourselves and our families—physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually—but only to the point of necessity and by leaning on Him; for it is by our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual strength that we are able to help and love others.

I think that’s enough for now. It just drives me crazy when people (myself included) take credit for something they had nothing to do with, especially when the One who actually deserves the credit rarely receives it in comparison to how often we pat ourselves on the back. So much to pray about..