A penny saved...

Ever watch the ESPN 30 for 30 series "Broke"? It documents the lives of former NFL athletes such as Bernie Kosar and Andre Rison among others, and how their fortunes rapidly disappeared. While Kosar's case was somewhat unique given that it was his family taking advantage of his finances, many other athletes find themselves filing Chapter 11 because of a lack of discipline. Jalen Rose explains it much better than I could:

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Which is why the story of Detroit Lions Wide Receiver Ryan Broyles has become so refreshing. Broyles, who has been with the Lions since 2012, has suffered a myriad of injuries that has threatened his career but he is thinking ahead. According to an article in ESPN, Broyles and his wife made the decision that they are budgeting themselves to live on $60,000 a year. Now, I know what you're thinking. "He makes $3.6 million! Of course it's easy for him to live on that when he has so much to save."

Well, considering that he is going into his last season of his rookie contract, and add on to the fact that he hasn't exactly lit up the league, he may be looking at his last contract in the NFL, which stands for "Not For Long" if you haven't lived up to expectations. Despite having their first child recently, Broyles' mindset going into this year is not about only 2015, but beyond. He says he has the mind of a "businessman" and that will serve he and his family well in the future.

Why can't we have that same approach when it comes to handling our resources? We often quote Matt. 6:24 "You cannot serve both God and money. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despite the other."  We got to the altar asking God for provision yet not taking care of what He's already given us. We can't get to church fast enough when a prophet gives the Word, hoping to receive a prophecy that says in essence, "We're about to strike it rich! Here comes the blessing." We discussed maturity yesterday, and a benchmark of maturity is understanding the purpose of being a good steward of what God has already given us, for He will trust us with more if we prove ourselves faithful.

I remember watching a television series "The Lottery Ruined My Life," and it is a cautionary tale of what happens when the focus becomes so much on the material that the mental isn't strong enough to handle it. We can't ask God for blessings if we don't have the spiritual maturity to handle them. Broyles is displaying the type of discipline to see that it's not just about today, it's about being prepared for tomorrow, for a good steward always thinks about the future. 

When is too much money not enough?

When you're new LA Clippers forward Josh Smith.

Smith, who has spent his career as one of the most enigmatic players in the league with his penchant to shoot ill-advised 3 pointers, decided to sign for the league's veteran minimum ($1.5 million) with the Clippers with the hopes of advancing to the NBA Finals. After a very mediocre stint in Detroit, he was let go by the Pistons and signed with the Rockets to join his longtime friend Dwight Howard. As a result, he reached the Western Conference Finals for the first time in his career, gaining respect around the league for realizing how to use his versatile talents to help a team win in the playoffs.

Now, we have seen many players (Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki, and more recently David West) who have taken less in order to increase the talent level on the team with the hopes of winning a title. That is usually considered very selfless, and we as fans like to see when players decide to see the bigger picture of holding the Larry 'O Brien trophy instead of chasing the millions. However, in a recent interview with PBT, Smith decided to declare that maybe the sacrifice might have been a bit hasty:

"It wasn't about the money because of the Detroit situation. But at the end of the day, you know, I do have a family. So it is going to be a little harder on me this year. But I'm going to push through it and try to do long-term after this year. But I think, this year, focusing on doing something special with this group of guys - we have the opportunity to do something special. Right now, this is what I want to focus on."

OK, so while he is correct in that he will be making less, he is still getting paid from his Detroit contract. Many people liken these comments to the infamous statement from former guard Latrell Sprewell when he said that he "had a family to feed" and wouldn't accept a deal worth $14 million. Overall Smith is getting $6.4 million and even as he made the sacrifice, the comments come off as insensitive at worst. While I won't claim to know how his finances are being handled, it does appear that he is still not seeing the big picture, as if he wasn't informed about the high cost of living in LA compared to the tax-free life in Texas.

The most successful athletes must have a tunnel-like focus in order to make it to the top of the mountain, but sometimes that focus becomes so myopic that they forget that they have been blessed with a talent that only the top 2% can maintain. Children hit the hardwood in the cold winter nights, dreaming of making even the minimum that Smith is playing for this year with every shot they attempt. Even if he didn't mean to sound so close-minded, Josh Smith has shown that there's a better way to present your "woe-is-me" case, and that's not to present getting paid $1.5 million as being difficult, even before taxes.

Word of advice Josh, and I say this as an Atlanta Hawks fan who saw you shoot 30% from 3 point-land for 9 years, here's something you may want to check out the next time you start claiming you have it so bad:

With Great Power...

Yesterday I discussed the consequences of poor decisions by leadership, and no sooner than the first blog went out that news of former FIFA president Sepp Blatter resigning just days after winning a fifth term in office hit the airwaves. The Twitterverse was ablaze with reactions ranging from glee to utter disgust that it took so long, with rumors of bribery and corruption running rampant over the organization for years. After all, when it comes to the world's most popular game (except in the States) countries consider it a privilege to host the World Cup once very 4 years, and would sacrifice whatever it takes to have them.

Whether it was South Africa in 2010, the 2016 Copa America, or the highly controversial selection of Qatar in 2022, reports that they won the bid based on bribery accusations began to surface after the arrest of 7 FIFA officials took place last week. While there was an attempt to push back the vote for the presidency of FIFA, it was ultimately denied as Blatter won once Prince Ali of Jordan withdrew after the first round of voting. A myriad of questions arose after the arrests took place, namely how long would it be before Blatter's name came up as a possible conspirator by lower-tier officials quick to paint him as the mastermind? Also, would newly appointed Attorney General Loretta Lynch have gotten involved if it didn't benefit the US in some way? As of this post, there has been no decision to remove the World Cup from either Russia in 2018 or Qatar in 2022.

Should it have even come to this point? Bluntly speaking, no, and while Blatter has yet to be accused of taking any bribes himself, his leadership has been in question for years in regards to shady dealings, especially after his long time assistant Jack Warner, former president of CONCACAF, left the organization. Qatar was the biggest question mark as it was considered the worst country out of all the bidders going into the vote, with temperatures reaching upwards of 122 degrees in the summer. Worse yet, hundreds of workers have died due to the extreme conditions while building the stadiums in Qatar. There are workers from Nepal who have reportedly been unable to visit their families and are instead forced to stay there to complete the project.

This all could've been prevented had Blatter and the other members of FIFA took the time to consider the risk in putting the games in a country with such a poor environment. Another result of poor leadership but even worse, it's due to the love of money, which is the root of all evil. It creates corruption when left unchecked. It can poison the minds of even the noblest of people when the love of money becomes greater than operating in common sense.

Power when used correctly can be a benefit to the community, but when decisions are based on greed, it has dire consequences, and in some cases, death.