| FCA DAILY IMPACT PLAY Never Too Late |
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| He called out to the Lord: “Lord God, please remember me. Strengthen me, God, just once more.” - Judges 16:28 |
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Professional golfer Blayne Barber had finally qualified for the PGA Tour. It was a dream come true! However, a week after playing in the tournament that qualified him, he couldn’t get the leaf out of his mind. Yes, a leaf. In the second round of the tournament, he had accidently brushed a leaf in the bunker on the 13th hole, so he marked his scorecard with a one-shot penalty for the infraction. Later that night, he learned it was a two-shot penalty. He played the final two rounds, but a week later, he didn’t have peace signing an incorrect scorecard, so he did the right thing. He disqualified himself, which cost him a spot on the PGA Tour. Blayne lived out the principle, “It’s never too late to do the right thing.”
When we have to go back and correct something, it is usually hard and involves sacrifice. This is a principle I have to remind myself often, because I am so forward focused. Messing with the past is difficult and complicated. I think to myself, “Why do I need to dig up the past and try to fix things?” Because God loves it when we go back, correct it and make it right. It took integrity and courage for Blayne to go back and disqualify himself, but he will always know that he did the right thing. God was pleased with what Blayne did. Hard but right. Painful but powerful.
In the Bible, we read about Samson starting out well in life, but he got into a heap of trouble by making some really bad decisions. However, even Samson realized that it wasn’t too late to make things right. At the end of his life, he called upon the Lord and did the right thing.
There might be teammates, coaches, family members or friends who are counting on us to live out this principle – to go back and make things right. Whether it is one week, four years or a lifetime, we need to always do the right thing, no matter what the cost. God wants to restore, reconcile and redeem relationships that have been damaged. Remember, it’s never too late to do the right thing.
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| If you were Blayne, would you have gone back and disqualified yourself? Why or why not? What prevents you from going back and doing the right thing? As a competitor, why is it important to always remember that it’s never too late to do the right thing? |
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| “Father, I know that it is never too late to do the right thing. Give me the understanding to know when I need to go back and do the right thing, and the courage to do it. In Jesus’ name, Amen.” |
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| Dan Britton serves as FCA's Chief Field Officer and has been on staff since 1990. Dan played professional lacrosse for four years for the Baltimore Thunder. He has coauthored six books, One Word, One Word for Kids, Life Word, Wisdom Walks, True Competitor and Called to Greatness; and he is the author and editor of twelve FCA books. He still plays and coaches lacrosse and enjoys running marathons. He and his wife Dawn reside in Overland Park, Kansas, and they have three adult children and two sons-in-law. You can e-mail Dan at dan@fca.org and read his blog at GetOneWord.com. |
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