Average Aaron

(Image courtesy of http://disabilitiesunlimited.org.)

My first year of football coaching has produced some memorable moments.  Once, at practice, a sophomore running back named Travis had his undershirt
ripped after he was tackled.  The ripped part hung out from underneath his jersey, and fell almost to the ground.  In the average human brain, one would have logically seen this as a distraction or safety hazard, and torn it off or tucked it in.  However, when dealing with teenage brains that have not yet fully developed, you can never expect logic or even normalcy.  Finally, after several more plays were run by the ridiculous-looking running back, a coach asked him to do something with the torn part of his shirt.  His response is one that still intrigues me to this day: “But coach, it will mess up my funkshway.”  At first, we didn’t know what he was talking about.  But after looking up the word in the ever helpful Urban Dictionary, I discovered it meant “a person’s natural rhythm or instinctive beat for any given action.”  Apparently his torn shirt gave him the edge he needed to compete in football, while it left me shaking my head in amazement and disbelief.

You can never expect the average behavior among high schoolers.  It’s like expecting to stay clean while feeding the hogs; it just ain't gonna happen.

I have the privilege of coaching the defensive ends during football practice everyday.  I have started assessing their technique using the words “below average,” “average,” and “above average.”  Of course, we are always aiming for the above average mark, but this is hard to attain.

There is a junior that I coach whose name is Aaron.  I have a lot of fun with him while I coach him.  And his name is perfect for alliteration with the word “average.”  For instance, there are many times he is just “average Aaron,” sometimes he is “below average Aaron,” and a few times he is “above average Aaron.”  It has now become an expected saying with the players to be called an “average Aaron.”  We all have a good time with it, all the while learning to become “above average Aarons.”

What about you?  In your personal life, are you below average, average, or above average in your relationship with Christ?  How would you be graded in your commitment to Him, the one who bore your sins to the grave and left them there?

Paul reminds us in Romans 8 that we are “more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”  Not just plain old conquerors, but "more than conquerors."  And being more than a conqueror is to be above average.

Do you have Who it takes to go beyond mediocrity?

Don't settle for average.  Go beyond mediocrity.