“Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
    but he who hates reproof is stupid.” -Proverbs 12:1 (ESV)

If you’re a fan of professional football — the real as opposed to the fantasy kind — you probably saw last Saturday’s game between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati and the surprising episode that took place late in the fourth quarter. The Steelers were trailing and had turned the ball over deep in their own territory. Just when it seemed their season was over, the Bengals fumbled and the Steelers’ hopes revived.

Moses gets to see — but not enter — the Promised Land. That’s a high price to pay for a tantrum. (image courtesy of www.fromoldbooks.org)

The previously injured Ben Roethlisberger returned to lead his team on a last desperate drive, trying to get within field goal range with enough time left. On an incomplete pass, Bengals defensive standout Vontaze Burfict speared Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown head-to-head, apparently knocking Brown unconscious. It was an ugly, cringe-inducing late hit, and the referees correctly penalized the Bengals 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct. This gave Pittsburgh improved field position and an all-important fresh set of downs.

Bengals cornerback Adam Jones protested to the officials, bumping roughly into one of them, resulting in another 15 yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. The 30-yard improvement in the Steelers’ field position, made kicker Chris Boswell’s job much easier, as the Steelers kicked a field goal to go ahead for keeps with 23 seconds remaining.

Is there such a thing as an “own goal” in American football?

Professional football is a young man’s game, but two young men in particular — Mr. Jones and Mr. Burfict — cost their team a victory and the opportunity to continue in the postseason. The Bengals had the Steelers in a tight spot, and without the flagrant foul and the dead-ball confrontation with a referee, Cincinnati most likely would have won the game. But because neither man kept his head when it counted, the Bengals’ stretch without a playoff win now exceeds 25 years, and head coach Marvin Lewis may find himself without a job. What a colossal waste!

I’m pointing this out because this failure of self-control doesn’t only afflict amped-up professional athletes — it can also affect you and me.

Nothing more than feelings…

One aspect of our culture that distinguishes it from that of previous generations is the exalted role of feelings. Where our grandfathers and their grandfathers would have appealed to a transcendent moral code to determine right and wrong, it seems we place our emotions in the place of supremacy — and the result is sorry spectacles and rotten consequences such as we saw in Cincinnati. Does this mean that a man should totally shut down his heart? Not at all.

How’s that heart condition?

The condition of your heart has a lot to do with how trustworthy it is. In our unredeemed state our hearts are, as the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah said, “desperately wicked.” If, however, we have been redeemed, God replaces our rebellious, hard hearts with good and noble hearts that are yielded to His will. In this latter condition, our feelings and the longings of our heart function like the instrument panel in a high-performance car. They don’t navigate or steer, but they provide essential information about how the systems are functioning. Elsewhere in Proverbs, King Solomon instructed his readers this way:

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” – Proverbs 4:24 (ESV) This heart is not the desperately wicked heart that thinks it’s the boss. This is a good and noble heart — a redeemed heart — that God uses as His instrument.

Not For Long

Just so Bengals fans and Messrs. Burfict and Jones don’t think I’m picking on them, I want to say again that rashness isn’t just something that shows up among pro athletes or the immature. Here’s one example from 4,000 years ago:

In chapter 20 of the Old Testament book titled Numbers we read how Moses had led the Children of Israel through 40 years of desert wandering following their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. Along the way, Moses had put up with the heat, privation and grumbling of his people, but he also had dealt with challenges to his authority as well as the people’s multiple rebellions against God.

At one point when the people — again — complained that God didn’t care for them because there was no water to drink, God instructed Moses to tell the rock of that place (called Meribah) to provide water. Instead, Moses railed at the stubborn people and angrily struck the rock. God provided the needed water — miraculously, as anyone who has tried to get water from a rock could tell you. But God also told Moses, that the consequence of his rash behavior was that neither he nor his brother Aaron would get to enter the Promised Land. Victory denied.

Grace, yes, but also consequences

We know that Moses received discipline and suffered the consequences for giving vent to his anger, but this did not sever Moses’ connection to God. We know this because when Jesus stood on the Mount of Transfiguration, who should appear to meet with him, but Elijah and Moses. Still, it must have stung Moses to have served faithfully all those years only to disqualify himself so late in the process — having to settle for a view of the Promised Land instead of settling in it.

Take the lesson where you find it

We can learn from the examples of Moses, Burfict, and Jones by cultivating self-control and keeping the larger objective in mind. In a football game, you have an opponent who is trying to thwart your game plan. You’re trying to thwart his. In life, your opponents are, as the Anglican prayer book said, “the world, the flesh, and the devil.” Unfortunately they don’t always identify themselves by wearing the opposing team’s jersey. Sometimes, they meet you on the field, fair and square. Other times, they try to get away with cheating. And sometimes, they try to get you to beat yourself by reacting emotionally when you’d do better to keep cool and stick to your game plan.

Vontaze Burfict not only helped his team lose the game they should have won, he won’t be playing in the Super Bowl. He also earned a three-game suspension that will keep him sidelined early next season. At some point a man has to ask himself if that cheap shot was worth it.

Look at the condition of your own heart and keep your feelings in their proper place. You may not win, but you will not defeat yourself.

So how about you? Have you ever lost because you spoke or acted rashly? How were you able to recover? Help your brothers learn from you.