It's always great in the NFL to start the season 3-0, as five teams have done this season. It gives the players and coaches confidence and a positive outlook moving forward. They know how challenging it is to win each week in the NFL, so they're glad to get the early-season wins.
At the same time, the top teams understand they haven't arrived just because they're 3-0. They realize there is work to do, and they need to make progress by not settling, getting cocky, and dwelling on their previous wins.
Patrick Mahomes has led the Chiefs to a 3-0 start, and after their win on Sunday night against the Falcons, he said, "I feel like I haven't played very well, and that's not a stats thing. I just feel like I'm missing opportunities whenever they're out there and not throwing the ball in the exact spot I want it to be at."
Mahomes knows he and the team can improve, and that's coming from the quarterback who won the last two Super Bowls.
Bill Belichick loves the perspective Mahomes has. During an interview with Pat McAfee on ESPN, he said, "One of the things that really jumped out at me was last night when they interviewed Mahomes… They're 3-0, and you could easily sit there and say they're on course, and here we go again, big win in Atlanta and all that, but there's Mahomes talking about how bad they're playing and how much harder they need to work and improve. That's the attitude of a champion right there."
Mahomes and Belichick know what it takes to win Super Bowls, which includes constant improvement and growth all season long. They are willing to be honest about their struggles, even while winning games.
Mike Macdonald, the Seattle Seahawks' first-year head coach, also grasps this concept and perspective. His team is 3-0, but he said on Monday, "There's a lot of great stuff on tape, but we're also at the beginning stages of this team and who we will become, and the guys know that. It's clear when you watch the tape where we need to improve, and there's a great opportunity for us to improve."
Like coaches and players always desire to grow and improve throughout each football season, followers of Jesus should demonstrate the same attitude. Yes, we are victorious and made holy and righteous when we place our faith in Jesus. We don't earn salvation or God's grace, but it is a gift based on Jesus' sacrifice on the cross.
Because we are followers of Jesus, we desire to become more like Him. Much the same as the Seahawks, we're at the "beginning stages of who we will become." We want to become the person Jesus calls us to be, so we invite Him to work in us and transform our character continually.
Paul writes in Philippians 1:6 (AMP), "I am convinced and confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will [continue to] perfect and complete it until the day of Christ Jesus [the time of His return]."
As God's Spirit works in us, we will experience some "wins," and even when we're "3-0," we can't settle, get cocky, or dwell on those previous wins.
Instead, we pursue constant improvement and growth all season long to become more like Jesus as we're honest and humble about the areas we're still struggling in. We know we're "not playing perfect football."
Paul explains in Philippians 3:12-14 (AMP), "Not that I have already obtained it [this goal of being Christlike] or have already been made perfect, but I actively press on so that I may take hold of that [perfection] for which Christ Jesus took hold of me and made me His own.
“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the [heavenly] prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
The Message translation paraphrases Philippians 3:12-14 like this: "I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back."
Today, let's be encouraged to keep pursuing Jesus. As we do, we will become more and more like Him. We don't need to beat ourselves up or feel shame because we still have many ways to improve or grow.
Instead, with excitement and grace-driven effort, we trust God to continue to sanctify and change us on each step of the journey.
I'm Bryce Johnson, and you can UNPACK that!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for all the ways You've changed me. I know You aren't finished with me yet, so help me continue to put myself in a position to allow You to grow me and work in me. I desire to become more and more like Jesus. In His name, I pray, Amen.
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