by: Russell McLaughlin

The Fumble

           One mistake in football that carries with it great disappointment is the fumble.  Fumbles shift momentum and lose games.  Fumbles dampen a team’s spirit and disappoint their fans.  Many off my coaches would say, “Okay butter fingers, hold on to the ball” or “Okay grass, quit tripping my football players!”

            Fumbles are not limited to the sports world.  All of life can be impacted by fumbles.  We often fumble by missing opportunities.  We all fumble away opportunities to share the Gospel with others.  We can attend worship distracted, half-hearted and unfocused, and walk away unrenewed. We need to reflect on Paul’s words in, Ephesians 5:15-16, “15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”

            When we fall to temptation and sin, we fumble. When we know the right thing to do and do not do it, we fumble (James 4:17). When we neglect things like: God’s word, prayer, worship, fellowship, sharing our faith, and using our gifts to serve others, we fumble. We all fumble. The important thing is to not keep fumbling.

             Most fumbles can be mitigated by commitment, concentration, a desire to win and hard work.  Years ago, I read an article about the offensive backs on the University of Miami at Ohio.  They spent an amazing amount of time working on ball control.  They held the record in the lowest number of turnovers in the late 1990’s.  One of their running backs, Travis Prentice still holds the NCAA records for the most consecutive carries (365) without a fumble in a season and in his college career, he recorded 862 consecutive touches without a fumble. They wanted to fumble less, and they did.

            Let’s not fumble but capitalize on the opportunities God provides!