The first day of the 2025 NCAA Tournament is now in the books, with 16 teams already securing their place in the second round.
One of those teams now guaranteed to advance to the round of 32 is 12-seed McNeese State, which orchestrated the biggest upset of the afternoon by hanging on to top 5-seed Clemson 69-67.
Heading into the Big Dance, some people questioned the Cowboys' ability to pull off the upset since their head coach, Will Wade, had already accepted the vacant head coaching position at NC State.
Some thought the open knowledge of his pending departure might distract or lessen his team's motivation as the players prepared for the Tournament.
Those concerns turned out to be completely unwarranted. McNeese State jumped out to an 18-point halftime lead over the Tigers and looked like the better team for most of the contest.
Wade's approach to openly acknowledging his discussions with NC State and his ultimate acceptance of the job with his players was a far cry from how many other coaches handle similar scenarios.
Rather than attempting to conceal what was happening, Wade elected to be open and forthright with his team, trusting that his open communication would pay off.
And looking at senior forward Christian Shumate's comments after the contest, we can see how Wade's approach was successful.
Shumate said, "When you're in the loop, and both ends are transparent about things, there's not too much room for conflict. There's a clear understanding. We'll worry about all of that stuff later. We're just focused on winning these games."
There’s no denying the fact that it would have been easier for Wade to attempt to hide his intentions from his team. After all, it had to be somewhat awkward and uncomfortable to tell the guys you have battled with all year that you will be leaving at the end of the season.
However, Wade chose to have difficult conversations with his team, which resulted in his team coming together to produce McNeese State's first NCAA Tournament victory.
In life, we all have encountered situations where being open and transparent in communicating with another person could be awkward or uncomfortable.
As followers of Jesus, however, we must accept and embrace that sometimes difficult conversations are necessary to experience true winning in our relationships.
Of course, some of the most challenging conversations we will engage in come about because of sin.
When another believer sins against us, Jesus commands us to be willing to approach that person and have a potentially difficult conversation, lovingly and gently calling them to repent of their sinful behavior.
In Matthew 18:15 (ESV), Jesus said, "'If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.'"
Jesus's words in this verse make it clear that the call to confront other believers in their sins is not an option but a command.
Though this can be difficult for us in the flesh because many don't enjoy confrontation, we must remember that love for our brother or sister in Christ necessitates confronting them in their sin because it is ultimately for their good.
Proverbs 27:5-6 (NASB) says, "Better is open rebuke than love that is concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy."
We can be bold to have difficult conversations with others because we recognize that our confrontation is meant to be restorative and not punitive. We desire the person to repent and turn from their sin so they might walk more faithfully on God's path, which is ultimately best for them.
At the same time that we willingly confront others in their sin, we also must be willing to embrace potentially awkward or uncomfortable feelings as we confess our sins to those we have wronged.
By confessing our sins against others, we open the door for quick reconciliation in our relationships. Our willingness to openly confess our sins often leads to even greater strength in our relationships, as people see that we are genuinely concerned about the fact that we have sinned against them.
James 5:16 (LSB) says, "Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed."
Today, let's be willing to have open, honest, and difficult conversations around sin so that we might open the door for more "winning" in our relationships.
I'm Matt Osborne, and you can UNPACK that!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, please help me be bold when having difficult conversations with others. Help me to have wisdom to know how and when to talk about things, and allow me to have a humble heart when I speak with others. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen.
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