Are you a team player?

For years I coached youth soccer.  I really enjoyed taking a group of kids and teaching them to be a team.  For me is it wasn't so much about winning games by points but by winning games by coming together as a team and playing our best.  Real winners worked together,  persevere together and stay together regardless the outcome of the points.

Let me tell you, building a team had its challenges.  I remember a kid who shall remain nameless who was a challenge.  It seemed like no matter what I said he did different and no matter what we were doing he did his own thing.  

As you can imagine his behavior presented some issues for the team. I remember asking him one day if he enjoyed the team, he said yes.  I asked him if he thought he was a part of the team, he said yes.  I smiled and said "no, your not a part of this team."  He looked at me confused, looked at his jersey then the jersey's of the others and the said "yes I am."  Again I said "no."  

Then I went on to explain that if he wanted to be a part of the team he was going to have to listen and do as I say.  Otherwise he was working against us and that made him our opponent.  I shared that a team works together in achieving a common goal not against one another.  I said if no one passes you the ball when you are open you can't score.  He agreed.  I said if you don't pass the ball to your players who are open they can't score either.  

I went on and explained that when a goal was scored, I took the whole team.  Defense to keep the ball away from our goal and offense to keep the ball away from their defense so we could score a goal.  If defense failed, offense never got a chance to score. If offense failed, then all the work defense did was wasted.  

If you are truly a apart of a team, you do as the coach says and work together for the common goal.  In Christ, if your a part of the team you will do as he says.  Otherwise your on the opposing team.

1 John 2:3-6 We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.4 The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.5 But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him:6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.