The Game of Life - Part 2, Listen To Your Manager

Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas and manager Arsène Wenger

Every football club is different. They have different styles of play. Some play 'direct play', some play 'counterattacking play' and etc. Managers are the factor for this. The quality of a team is often determined by the quality of the manager. We often see that when players start to forget their role as players and start to think that they are in control of the team, they not only slump in their personal performance on the pitch but they cause their entire team to lose matches. On the other hand, we also see that when players respect their managers, they begin to learn and mature fast as a footballer and as a person. They start to perpetuate in their improvement of their skills and technique. Not only that but they start to understand the vision of their manager as well and start to play beautifully as a team. When all the players of the team start to obey and listen to their manager, the manager begins to enjoy his time as a manager, the players enjoy playing together and the fans enjoy their time watching and cheering their team on.

Let us learn from this on honour and respect, submission and teachability. Often we forget that our leaders are doing everything in their ability for our well being. When we start to think of ourselves more highly then we ought to (not that we're not suppose to think of ourselves highly just that not more highly then we ought to la), our efforts in "training" (good works) are wasted and the whole team (cell group/church) becomes handicap because of our patheticness. Our perpetual success is then hindered just because of the 'I think I'm very smart' attitude.

We can learn from countless stories in the Bible about honour, respect, submission and being teachable. The story of Elijah (big shot manager) and Elisha (big shot manager's butler) is a classic example. For 11 years Elisha was doing nothing related to performing miracles or anything of the sort which we know that he did later on in the story. He got the double portion of anointing from Elijah not because he had already 11 years of experience in the ministry or he was praying consistently for 11 years but it was because he was simply submissive, teachable and gave respect and honour to his manager (Elijah). Am I saying then we should not pray? Certainly not!

Whatever Elijah told him to do he did it. Can you imagine what would've been the things Elijah told him to do? "Hey stack the chairs" or "Make sure the toilets are clean when I get back from raising the dead". Notice that he wasn't even a football player (a prophet in training). He was the manager's butler. Nothing to do directly with football. He probably didn't even know he was gonna be the successor of Elijah. Honour, respect, submission, being teachable plus passion was what eventually made Elisha a footballing legend.

So, LISTEN TO YOUR MANAGER...... LA!

'WORDS OF FAITH'

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give account. Let them do this with joy and not grief, for this would be unprofitable for you. (Hebrews 13:17 NASB)