Third And Eight

Third and Eight

All they needed was eight yards to keep the drive alive. The problem was that the tight end released into the flat and caught the ball at four yards, and the “Sam” linebacker cut him short at six.

Does this happen to your hometown team as often as it seems to happen to mine? For whatever reason, some offensive schemes leave the fans, the ownership, and the defensive side of the ball wondering about the competency and reliability of the offensive unit. When this happens, the entire team suffers.

You see, when your defense knows that the offense is going to go three and out, they lose heart. They then begin to ask, “Why am I working so hard if half of our game plan and half of our personnel are incompetent?”

To win consistently at any level requires an entire team effort. It demands excellence and absolute commitment to those you work with, those who employ you, or those who cheer you on from home. Not fulfilling your commitment creates an undertow of uncertainty that is hard to stop and repair. Look at the comparison Solomon makes in Proverbs 25:19: “Putting confidence in an unreliable person in times of trouble is like chewing with a broken tooth or walking on a lame foot.”

If you are going to be successful, you have to learn to be faithful. You have to be reliable. So are you being faithful toward your employer, coworkers, and family? Make sure those around you can rely on you through your faithfulness.

Putting confidence in an unreliable person in times of trouble is like chewing with a broken tooth or walking on a lame foot.

Proverbs 25:19