With Greg Popovich as their head coach, the San Antonio Spurs have made the playoffs every year since the 1997-1998 season and won the NBA Championship five times. They are the standard for success in the NBA.
In a recent interview with ESPN, Popovich was asked, “When you bring someone into the Spurs organization, what do you look for?” He gave a longer response, but this was the part that stuck out to me: “...We’re looking for people - and I’ve said it many times - that have gotten over themselves. And you can tell that pretty quickly. You can talk to somebody for four or five minutes, and you can tell if it’s about them or if they understand that they’re just a piece of the puzzle. So we look for that…” This makes sense when establishing a team mentality and a culture of winning, but I also believe the same characteristic is essential when following Jesus. In order to be true followers, we must get over ourselves. We should pursue losing our pride, selfishness, self-dependence, and the “me” mentality. The Bible says in Matthew 16:24-25, “Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.’” Coach Popovich requires his players to remember that it’s not about them, but about the team. It’s hard, but the results show that it works. Although it’s a daily battle, we too must realize the importance of removing our ego, getting over ourselves, and surrendering to Jesus. When we do, the results will be life-changing. Today as we begin our week, let's deny ourselves...die to our selfish desires...and lose our way of doing life, so that we can win with Christ now and for eternity. I'm Bryce Johnson and you can unpack that! PRAYER: Father, forgive me for being so selfish and prideful. Help me to realize the importance of dying to myself daily in order to fully follow Jesus. I need more of You and less of me. Thank you for your grace. In Jesus' name, Amen.
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