During rival week against the Florida Gators, you are guaranteed to hear many conversations in the gym concerning Saturday’s game. While working out on the shoulder press, I overheard a gentleman complaining about the current football staff at FSU. It's amazing to me how quickly people get negative as soon as we have a couple average seasons. "We need a new coach" or "Coach Bowden is too old" was the topic of the conversation.
I remember last year when people were saying the same thing about Penn State coach Joe Paterno. This year, Paterno coached Penn State to a 10-1 record and an invitation to play in the Orange Bowl. And guess who Penn State is playing? You guessed it--FSU. Only eight teams get to play in a BCS bowl game.
Not bad for coaches, who according to the arm chair quarterbacks, are too old. I just wish people would be thankful that we have a living legend coaching for the Seminoles. And do I need to remind all the complainers that he has more wins than any coach in college football history.
This leads me to my second point concerning thankfulness. Thankfulness protects us from a negative attitude. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, "16Be joyful always; 17pray continually; 18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." Notice that this passage of scripture says we are to be thankful in all circumstances, not for all circumstances. Seminole fans don't have to be thankful for losing a game. However, we can be thankful in the lost. We can be thankful no one got hurt, we can be thankful our guys played hard, we can be thankful that our coach has more wins than any other coach.
What are you talking about Pastor Ron? I'm glad you asked. I will explain it to you. As I said earlier, when we stop being thankful we become negative and critical. How can we demand a new coach when the one we have has won more games than anyone else? That is insanity. A thankful attitude will act as a protection against the dark forces of anger, criticism, unforgiveness, negativity, anxiety and fear.
Pastor Bill Bennot says, “Thankfulness creates a no stick surface in our souls, which prevents the negative fallout from corrupting our mind, will and emotions.” In this example, being unthankful for having the coach with the all-time most wins in college football produces in us a bad attitude. Would a new coach do better? Maybe he would or maybe he would not. But our current one has already done better than anyone in history. Hello!
John Henry Jowett, a British preacher of an earlier generation, said this about gratitude: "Gratitude is a vaccine, an antitoxin, and an antiseptic." What did he mean? He meant that gratitude, like a vaccine, can prevent the invasion of a disgruntled, discouraged spirit. Like an antitoxin, gratitude can prevent the affects of the poisons of cynicism, criticalness, and grumbling. Like an antiseptic, a spirit of gratitude can soothe and heal the most troubled spirit.”
Happy Thanksgiving and Go Noles!
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