The 2013-2014 NFL Season has officially come to a close with the Seattle Seahawks completely obliterating the Denver Broncos, 43 to 8. I can't imagine how it feels for those players from the Denver Broncos team who worked hard all season to see all of their hard work turn out to be a very devastating loss.
Devastating. Disappointing. Frustrating. Annoying. Embarrassing.
The latter was the word that was asked of the Quarterback, Peyton Manning, after the performance of the Broncos in the Super Bowl. Peyton was being interviewed last night right after this difficult loss when the question was asked whether the massive loss was embarrassing. This was his response (with the link to the brief article below):
"It's not embarrassing at all. I would never use that word," Manning said, starting to fumble for words. "There's a lot of professional football players in that locker room that put in a lot of work into being here, playing in that game... That word embarrassing is an insulting word to tell you the truth."
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000323278/article/broncos-peyton-manning-its-not-embarrassing-at-all
I agree. It's not embarrassing at all being able to do what you love. It's not embarrassing at all being able to be chosen to play football in the NFL. It's not embarrassing at all to be chosen as one of the top two teams of the NFL this year. It's not embarrassing being able to be able to participate in your third Superbowl.
Sure it wasn't the outcome that the Denver Broncos were looking to have at the end of the 4th Quarter and they definitely wanted to put a few more points on the board for sure, but I agree that they the last thing that they should feel is embarrassment.
Not going to lie, I was rooting for the Seahawks last night and was incredibly excited to see them perform so well (especially after being told quite a few times about how badly they would lose), but after reading that quote from Peyton Manning last night, I am reminded once again about how important it is to finish well, no matter if you win or lose. It would have been so easy for Peyton Manning to say that he was embarrassed about how the team played, about his performance, and about the game as a whole; especially since other players including Wes Welker clearly stated their embarrassment. But he didn't. He finished well and made it a point to highlight that the team put their hearts into this game and though the outcome wasn't what they wanted, they could still hold their heads high.
We as Christians can learn a lot from not only from Manning's words, but also from the concept of finishing well. There are times in our lives, where things may not happen just the way we will want them to. Will we allow bitterness to dictate our response? Will we allow people to set us off and focus on the negatives, rather than on the positives? Will we allow the setback to be the ammunition that inspires us to continue to press on and move forward? Listen to this verse from Acts:
"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me-the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace." -Acts 20:24
How do we finish well? There a quite a few examples of how to finish well and I do not claim to have all the examples to this question. Here are three ways/ideas that I thought of:
1. We finish well through maintaining our integrity through the process, whatever the process looks like. Whatever life throws at us, whether good or bad, we need to hold strong and make it a priority to continue to be upright and honest.
2. We finish well through working through issues and not trying to push them off to the side. It's incredibly easy to push things off when things are very difficult for us to handle. Sometimes, we just need to take the difficult route, tackle the situation head on, and remind ourselves that we are doing our best to be an example of Christ in this area.
3. We finish well through standing firm in our beliefs and in the truth found in God's word. We can have a solid foundation through basing our lives on the truth in scripture. The Bible challenges, encourages, and strengthens us to go the extra mile and then some. By standing firm in our beliefs, not only are we making it a point to live upright, but we make it a point to live boldly a life that will cause those around us who do not know the Lord to ask questions about the truth found in His word.
Interesting thoughts and hopefully some thought-provoking questions that we can ask ourselves after this exciting Super Bowl. It's all process and we're all on the journey of life together. No matter the outcome of the situation at hand, let's make it a priority to live our lives well and finish well.
With that said, well played, Seattle Seahawks, and well played, Denver Broncos.
Devastating. Disappointing. Frustrating. Annoying. Embarrassing.
The latter was the word that was asked of the Quarterback, Peyton Manning, after the performance of the Broncos in the Super Bowl. Peyton was being interviewed last night right after this difficult loss when the question was asked whether the massive loss was embarrassing. This was his response (with the link to the brief article below):
"It's not embarrassing at all. I would never use that word," Manning said, starting to fumble for words. "There's a lot of professional football players in that locker room that put in a lot of work into being here, playing in that game... That word embarrassing is an insulting word to tell you the truth."
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000323278/article/broncos-peyton-manning-its-not-embarrassing-at-all
I agree. It's not embarrassing at all being able to do what you love. It's not embarrassing at all being able to be chosen to play football in the NFL. It's not embarrassing at all to be chosen as one of the top two teams of the NFL this year. It's not embarrassing being able to be able to participate in your third Superbowl.
Sure it wasn't the outcome that the Denver Broncos were looking to have at the end of the 4th Quarter and they definitely wanted to put a few more points on the board for sure, but I agree that they the last thing that they should feel is embarrassment.
Not going to lie, I was rooting for the Seahawks last night and was incredibly excited to see them perform so well (especially after being told quite a few times about how badly they would lose), but after reading that quote from Peyton Manning last night, I am reminded once again about how important it is to finish well, no matter if you win or lose. It would have been so easy for Peyton Manning to say that he was embarrassed about how the team played, about his performance, and about the game as a whole; especially since other players including Wes Welker clearly stated their embarrassment. But he didn't. He finished well and made it a point to highlight that the team put their hearts into this game and though the outcome wasn't what they wanted, they could still hold their heads high.
We as Christians can learn a lot from not only from Manning's words, but also from the concept of finishing well. There are times in our lives, where things may not happen just the way we will want them to. Will we allow bitterness to dictate our response? Will we allow people to set us off and focus on the negatives, rather than on the positives? Will we allow the setback to be the ammunition that inspires us to continue to press on and move forward? Listen to this verse from Acts:
"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me-the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace." -Acts 20:24
How do we finish well? There a quite a few examples of how to finish well and I do not claim to have all the examples to this question. Here are three ways/ideas that I thought of:
1. We finish well through maintaining our integrity through the process, whatever the process looks like. Whatever life throws at us, whether good or bad, we need to hold strong and make it a priority to continue to be upright and honest.
2. We finish well through working through issues and not trying to push them off to the side. It's incredibly easy to push things off when things are very difficult for us to handle. Sometimes, we just need to take the difficult route, tackle the situation head on, and remind ourselves that we are doing our best to be an example of Christ in this area.
3. We finish well through standing firm in our beliefs and in the truth found in God's word. We can have a solid foundation through basing our lives on the truth in scripture. The Bible challenges, encourages, and strengthens us to go the extra mile and then some. By standing firm in our beliefs, not only are we making it a point to live upright, but we make it a point to live boldly a life that will cause those around us who do not know the Lord to ask questions about the truth found in His word.
Interesting thoughts and hopefully some thought-provoking questions that we can ask ourselves after this exciting Super Bowl. It's all process and we're all on the journey of life together. No matter the outcome of the situation at hand, let's make it a priority to live our lives well and finish well.
With that said, well played, Seattle Seahawks, and well played, Denver Broncos.
This was a great read. I can't wait to read more of your posts!
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