Basketball insights from a 7 year old

I recently had the chance to take my 7 year old daughter on a date to a Jazz game.  Basketball isn't her favorite sport, but she loves spending time with her dad.  She's loves to learn and is very excited about math in school so she spent most of the game trying to figure out which team was winning and by how much.  Unfortunately, it wasn't the Jazz. In a game where they had to win to have a shot at making they playoffs, they fell flat.  It was a hard game to watch for a die-hard fun such as myself because we just couldn't seem to make a shot.

My daughter noticed this too.  I remember listening to the talking heads on the radio the next morning break down the game and analyze every detail to find out what went wrong, but my daughter provided the best analysis I'd heard.  We were watching the Jazz warm up at halftime and she said to me "Dad, how come they [the Jazz] can make these three pointers, but not the other ones?"  She had noticed during the game that they were  having a hard time making baskets and watching them during halftime so also noticed that the issue was not their shooting.  They could clearly make baskets, so why couldn't they do it during the game?

The ability to deliver when it really matters is something with which each of us struggle.  There is something about the expectation of a certain result that affects our performance, but it's something that we can all work to overcome.

We're all familiar with the story of Joseph in the Old Testament, who was sold into slavery by his family.  Joseph grew to become a very respected man in the Pharaoh's house.  One day Joseph was confronted by the wife of one of Pharaoh's captains, Potiphar.  The story is told in these words (Genesis 39):

7 And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.

8 But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand;

9 There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife:  how then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?

10 And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her

11 And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within.

12 And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.

There are a couple of things in this account that stand out to me. First was that Joseph recognized the high position he had been given in the household, but his first concern was offending God.  Second, we tend to think of this as a one-time thing, but we can clearly see that Potiphar's wife was after Joseph for multiple days.  Joseph's rejection of her advances was not a single act of courage, but a repeated declaration of his belief.  Lastly Joseph had every opportunity to give in, but he remained faithful.  It's important to note on the final occasion that sent Joseph fleeing and left Potiphar's wife with nothing but a t-shirt the scriptures say very clearly that Joseph was alone in the house with her.  It's likely that nobody besides the two of them would ever have found out.

That's what makes Joseph's integrity that much stronger. He was able to perform up to his standards when it mattered most.  His statement to Potiphar's wife give us something else to think about.  "How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God"?  We learn from that simple yet powerful statement that it always matters.  What we do when we are alone is just as, if not more, important than what we do in the company of others.  Integrity is not a matter of who is watching us.  And even if it were, God is always watching us.

It's been said that you miss 100% of the shots you don't take.  Here's to hoping we can make all of our shots count.