From Fighter To Trainer

From Fighter to Trainer

If you follow the Rocky movies’ plotlines, you will see a progression of wisdom being passed down from old to young. Mickey poured into Rocky and helped him defeat the likes of Apollo Creed. Apollo then became the trainer and helped shape the less experienced Balboa, who then defeated Clubber Lang. When Creed passed at the hands of the Russian fighter Drago, there was no dominant figure to pour wisdom into the heavyweight, and the moviegoer could feel the absence being played out on the big screen.

In the final Rocky movie, Creed, Adonis Johnson, the son of Apollo Creed, seeks the wisdom of an old Rocky Balboa to help him go to the next level as a fighter. There is something powerful to consider when we see this ancient practice of the fighter becoming the trainer and pouring into the next generation. It mirrors fathering and coaching. It is the picture of the student growing up to become the teacher.

Mentoring and apprenticeships have been the standard way of training the next generation for centuries. Notice the observations of the Queen of Sheba when she journeyed to see King Solomon. She was evaluating for herself what she had heard of his teaching and the vast wisdom he possessed. Notice how she noted the impact that she saw. She said, “Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!” (1 Kings 10:8, ESV). Students who seek to grow find mentors who can benefit them with the principles that nourish them today and prepare them for tomorrow. Mentors who have a genuine interest in their students’ well-being, who delight in seeing their growth and success. May we reclaim this lost ancient discipline of passing wisdom down from age to age!

Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!

1 Kings 10:8, ESV