God's Coaching #328

God's Coaching #328

When can praying earn you a penalty? Never, right? Wrong. In the Washington Class 2A state semifinal football game, Tumwater High School running back Ronnie Hastie received a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for giving glory to God. The flag came from out of the blue—and actually hit the junior running back as he knelt in the end zone.

After running for a 23-yard touchdown, Ronnie did what he had done 17 times before in the 2010 season: he knelt, bowed his head, and then pointed a finger to the sky. It’s his way of giving glory to God, not himself, he told reporters afterward. He’d never been penalized for it before. But this time, the referee told him he couldn’t draw attention to himself. Ironically, the penalty received national attention. Fortunately, the penalty didn’t hurt his team. Ronnie’s Thunderbirds defeated East Valley 63–27 to advance to the state championship. Tumwater claimed the state championship the following week with a 34–14 victory over Archbishop Murphy High School.

What’s the Score?

Did Ronnie do anything wrong? No. The reason for the rule was to crack down on players doing end-zone celebrations or dances or choreographed moves. But Ronnie wasn’t trying to draw attention to himself. He wanted to honor God. Many people raised a big outcry in the weeks following the game. Ronnie didn’t make a big deal of it, even though the whole situation caught him by surprise. The high school junior didn’t want to hurt his team, so he said he would just kneel and thank God on the sideline after scoring future touchdowns.

In the early days of the church, Peter and some other apostles were arrested and dragged before the priests. Why? For preaching about Jesus—just like Jesus had told them to do. When they were faced with punishment and maybe even death, they told the priests they wouldn’t stop telling others about Jesus. Obeying God was more important than obeying men (Acts 5:29). Jesus taught us to respect authorities, so we should—until that means we would have to disobey God. When there’s a conflict, God should always come first.

On the Ball

How do you give credit to God when you accomplish something good? Make a plan to thank God and respect other people when you score, get a good grade, or win a contest or prize.

Coach’s Comment

Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority.” Acts 5:29