Today there was an article that came out on the Bleacher Report that was entitled 'Life Lessons we can learn from Sports.' While I won't dispense the entire list here (lest I get a nasty email from the fine folks in Atlanta), there was one particular lesson that made me stand up and applaud:
3. Get Up, Dress Up and Show Up
The photo you see above is the GOAT (no, not Scottie Pippen, the other guy) after his famous 'Flu Game' in Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals against Utah. Michael Jordan was running a high fever the entire day (now whether or not he was poisoned with food in a Salt Lake City hotel will go down in history as one of sports' greatest conspiracies) and there was doubt if he would even show up. However, he did show up and it resulted in an all-time great performance.
Now, I know a lot of people will go back to last year's infamous 'Cramp Game' in which LeBron James left Game 1 of the Finals against San Antonio with leg cramps and say he should've stayed in there. None of us know the conditions of the human body better than the person themselves, and every athlete knows when they can go and they can't. I don't fault LeBron for what he did, so let's move on.
Back to MJ, and he believed that it was best to leave it all on the court that night and deal with the consequences later. Much like with Willis Reed back in 1973 for the New York Knicks, just showing up did more for the Chicago Bulls' psyche (and probably damaged Utah's) than anything else. They needed every last one of his 38 points too, but it was the lesson from above that is prevalent here.
Like it or not, we have a responsibility to someone, whether it's our boss, our spouse, our children, our co-workers, and even to those who we may not realize look up to us. Total transparency, I've had to realize this lesson a few times in my life as well. As we've discussed in the previous blogs, what we do impacts the lives of others. If we are able to get up (major injury notwithstanding) then we shouldn't be afraid to dress up and show up. I recently heard of a radio show host who took off sick after more than 50 consecutive years of doing his show on the air. Imagine the discipline it takes to do such a thing!
I'm reminded of a young man Timothy who was just starting out in the ministry, and was battling a lot of inner strife in the church where he was a pastor. His mentor Paul had to step in and give him a Scripture-based version of 'Win One for the Gipper' (Notre Dame fans will get that one) basically encouraging him to 'Get Up, Dress Up and Show Up." Basically, Paul gave it to him as such in 1 Timothy 6:20...
"Timothy, guard what God has entrusted to you. Avoid godless, foolish discussions with those who oppose you with their so-called knowledge."
I don't know about you, but that alone would've been enough for me to get up and do what must be done. Whatever you do in life, remember that even in the tough times, someone is looking up to you to make the right decision.
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