March Madness-Minded

One of the most significant sporting events in the United States is the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1 Men's Basketball tournament, more commonly known as March Madness! After completing a full schedule of regular season games and competing in their conference tournaments, 68 teams, which include the top men's D1 basketball programs in the nation and 8 teams that have to participate in a "play-in game," all receive an invitation, now televised on what is branded as "Selection Sunday." The tournament began on Tuesday for the last eight teams, with the winners advancing and officially placed in four brackets that make up the field of 64. Thus, there will be 32 games on the opening weekend, which starts today, and ultimately this single-elimination tournament will be whittled down to the final four and then the championship game. Now, for some reading this devotional, you know that breakdown of the tournament's structure better than I do.

However, for others, you are saying, "What in the world is he talking about!"
Whether or not you understand the college basketball end-of-the-season tournament format, we can learn a few applicable lessons from "March Madness." First, hard work and discipline pay off! Each team in the tournament has already spent hundreds of hours practicing, training, and holding meetings. While using athletics as an example of discipline and self-control, Paul said in First Corinthians 9:24-26, "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified."

Secondly, being a good teammate matters! I love watching these college kids play hard and stick together, especially when there's adversity in the game. For example, this one player cost his team a game during last year's tournament and began to sulk, but his teammate came by, literally lifted his head, and helped him run down the court. Sometimes, life can be so hard that we want to give up; it's then that we need good teammates around us to pick us up. Galatians 6:2 says, "Carry one another’s burdens; in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ."

Knowing this, let us be March Madness-minded in our commitment to Christ and to each other. Enjoy the games!