The Cleveland Browns take on the Pittsburgh Steelers tonight and both teams are coming off a win. It’s an intriguing matchup as the Browns look to beat the Steelers for the first time in five years.
Despite the Browns beating the Bills last week, quarterback Baker Mayfield is being criticized for a comment he made in regard to a false start penalty at the end of the first half.
Resulting in the Browns having to settle for a field goal, he blamed the home crowd for being too loud by saying, “...when we’re on offense, we need it to be quiet.”
Although Mayfield is right, franchise quarterbacks are expected to take responsibility instead of making excuses. When the Hall of Famer, Steve Young, was asked about Baker’s comments on ESPN's Pardon the Interruption, he provided a great perspective.
As a former star quarterback who holds a law degree, he explained that in the NFL you can draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper putting accountability on one side and mitigation on the other side. There are ten million mitigating circumstances in every football game and the crowd being loud is one of them.
He discussed how even though the crowd was loud, a quarterback has to be accountable for what happens since the ball is in his hands. If you blame mitigating factors and list something like crowd noise as the reason for why a mistake took place (instead of accepting responsibility), you won't be successful at winning football games.
Guys like Tom Brady and Drew Brees are accountable and set the tone for their teammates to also be accountable.
We can quickly pile on Mayfield for the ways he’s struggled in his second season, but he’s still a young QB and has to learn what it takes to be a leader of a franchise.
Like Mayfield, we can easily choose mitigation over accountability. Mitigating circumstances are defined in criminal law as “conditions or happenings which do not excuse or justify criminal conduct.”
Whether it's criminal conduct or more likely some other mistake or wrong decision we make, listing off a bunch of reasons for why we did it or blaming others for why things didn't turn out right isn't going to lead to a fruitful life.
Proverbs 28:13 (NLT) tells us, "People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy."
By making a practice of confessing and taking responsibility for our actions and the choices we make, we're more likely to grow and mature from them. Plus, one day we'll stand before God to give an account of our lives.
Even though there may be “ten million mitigating circumstances” we'll encounter along the way, He will hold us (followers of Jesus) accountable for what we did with the lives we were given.
2 Corinthians 5:10 (AMP) explains, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be repaid for what has been done in the body, whether good or bad ."
So today, instead of coming up with excuses, finding others to blame, or denying our own mistakes, let's choose accountability and responsibility as we rest in the grace and mercy of Jesus.
I'm Bryce Johnson and you can UNPACK that!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, when life gets tough and I make mistakes, help me not to make excuses or place blame anywhere else. I know I'm held accountable for my actions and decisions, so I pray they'd be honoring to You. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen.
Discussion Questions for PACKS:
When you make mistakes, who or what are you most likely to blame?
What recent mistake do you need to confess and take responsibility for?
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