God's Coaching #189

God's Coaching #189

The summer of 2010 brought World Cup fever to all corners of the world. But on the Caribbean island of Barbados, a different world championship was firing up a lot of excitement. The Woz Challenge Cup rolled onto the field to the delight of millions, er, actually, hundreds of fans. The Woz Cup is the World Cup of Segway polo. That’s right—those two-wheeled, electric-powered, gyroscopically steered, stand-up vehicles.

At first glance the competition seemed to be between old dudes with enough money to spend on high-tech toys. But take a closer look before you write off these guys. One of the competitors was Steve Wozniak, cofounder of Apple Computers. He’s the Woz in Woz Cup. Many of his teammates and opponents worked for Apple. Others were engineers, Segway shop owners, or retirees.

The Segway polo players all shared a self-proclaimed geekiness that made them want to ride a Segway and swing a mallet at the same time. They didn’t care if people thought it was cool or not. Maybe it was that attitude that helped them follow their own paths in life. And maybe that attitude led them to achieve enough success that they could spend time cruising around on two wheels and relaxing in the tropical island breezes.

What’s the Score?

Many of the most inventive, influential people in history never measured up to the cool kids’ checklist. Instead, they redefined cool by being exactly who they were made to be.

Ephesians 2:10 says, “We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (NIV). God made you just the way he wants so you can do the special things he has prepared for you. That’s truly cool! But sometimes we have to walk away from the pressures of our world to discover the identity God has given us. When we follow God’s design for us instead of what the world calls cool, we might even find some amazing friends who have done the same thing.

On the Ball

What are you doing just because it’s the cool thing? Talking or dressing a certain way? Ask God for the courage to stop. I’m going to stop ___________________________________ and start _____________________________________ instead.

Coach’s Comment

We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)