Do you want to get better?

I recently heard a message that addressed a question in John 5:6 where Jesus asked a crippled man, who had been stuck for 38 years lying hopelessly by the Pool of Bethesda, “Do you want to be healed?”

What if I was to tell you that I believe 90% of the world are exactly like this cripple. Most people don’t want to change, nor do they want help changing. 

The new trend in college athletics is for the top NCAA teams to spend whatever money necessary to cherry pick the top already developed players from lower level teams. 

This erases the challenge for these teams of having to develop or change their recruits.

Let’s look at this when it comes to recruiting. 

Most programs choose the transfer route looking for older developed players. Some seek a mix, while a few bring in mostly freshman and focus on developing young talent. 

First you identify if a recruit has the God given talent and size to be a successful college basketball player. You then identify their strengths and weaknesses. Some of the most critical things to consider are faith, character, coach-ability, physicality, the ability to learn, and work ethic. 

One thing that ends up being a make or break skill when it comes to a player developing is do they want to change or do they want to stay comfortable? 

I was hard headed myself and my first reaction was attempting to prove my coach wrong. I wanted to prove to him my way would work. Sadly most every time, it was just a waste of my time and it only slowed down my development. 

Only a very special few grasp how truly difficult it is to change. To recalibrate things like your habits, mental approach, and pain tolerance, all things you have formed since you were a small child, requires a commitment that is disappearing in today’s world. 

What I have found to work best when it comes to helping transform young men, I must first lead them to The Helper. Nobody can empower and change someone like the Holy Spirit! 

A select few actually grasp the importance and want change to truly happen. Most like the sound of it in theory, yet they actually want to play the fence and still do what their flesh wants to do the majority of the time.  They only want the Holy Spirit to guide and empower them when they choose and on their terms. 

I know how amazing it is when you finally do go all in and let God start writing your story.