God's Coaching #50

God's Coaching #50

NASCAR drivers often fight bumper to bumper for position in a race. But at the 1979 Daytona 500, they ended up fighting with their fists. As Cale Yarborough dropped inside to try to pass Donnie Allison on the final lap, Donnie wasn’t going to let Cale through. The cars bumped, and Cale’s wheels ran off the track. He swung out of control, and both cars swerved into the wall, crashed, and slid into the infield. Donnie’s brother, Bobby, drove up to check on the two, and that’s when a fight broke out.

These three racers had already been involved in a spinout earlier in the day. This one cost Cale and Donnie the race. Tempers flared. Cale blamed the Allison brothers for double-teaming him. They denied it. Cale hit Bobby with his helmet, and the three started wrestling and punching in the mud.

Meanwhile, Richard Petty was a half-lap behind when the crash happened. He hadn’t won anything for 45 races, and his doctors had told him not to drive in this race because he had recently had surgery. But Richard ended up coming away with a victory.

What’s the Score?

The big Daytona fight got a lot of attention, but it didn’t get any of the racers involved what they wanted—first place. No matter whose fault it truly was, the fight showed what was in the racers’ hearts. James’s words fit well: “You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them” (James 4:2).

If we let our jealousy and pride drive us, we’re scheming and waging war in our hearts. It’s the same as fighting even if we don’t throw punches. How can we avoid it? Ask God for what you want instead of getting jealous. You can trust his good plans for you. When we ask God for something and trust him to know what’s best for us, we can relax and not fight others for it. That helps us avoid crashing. After all, even second place is better than not finishing at all—Cale would surely agree.

On the Ball

What or who are you jealous of? Write it down. Tape it on a toy car. And drive it off your deck. Pray as you do, and consider it a symbol of your getting rid of your jealousy.

Coach’s Comment

You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. James 4:2