Years ago, after the loss of a football game, NFL quarterback Sonny Jurgensen was asked by a reporter if he ever thought about quitting, especially when upset fans threw things at him. Sonny replied, “No, not really. I don’t want to quit. I’ve been in this game long enough to know that every quarterback, every week of the season, spends his time in either the penthouse or outhouse.” I’m not sure why he said outhouse instead of dog house, but you get the idea.
It seems to me we often find ourselves in the outhouse for two reasons:
- We are imperfect – the chances of us playing a perfect game, day after day, week after week, are zero. Let’s face it, we’re human. In spite of our best efforts, we mess up every now and then. I know that by first hand experience. Can you relate?
- Others are imperfect – One day they’re singing our praises and the next they’re booing us off the field. Even Jesus, the flawless perfect one, experienced that. Palm Sunday was life in the Penthouse, but the outhouse came only four days later when some of the same people screamed for His death.
When you fail at something that you were really trying to get right, it’s your perspective on your imperfections and failures that will make a huge difference in what happens next.
There’s a verse in the Bible that says: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time” (1 Peter 5:6).
When you feel like you can hear the crowd booing you off the field because you messed up, don’t get angry or defensive. Don’t let their opinions make you feel like a failure and cause you to give up. Instead, look to God. Humble yourself before Him. Remind yourself that you’re not perfect and that’s okay. He doesn’t expect you to be. Then pick yourself up and keep on going. Trust Him to “lift you up in due time.”
By David Gudgel