by Shannon Caughey

Coaching often involves choosing one athlete over another. You choose some athletes to be first-string and others to be back-ups. You choose a small group of players to be captains while the rest of the team are not given this honor. If you have end-of-the-season awards, you choose who receives these awards and who doesn’t. All of these choices are based on merit.

To pursue godliness, there is an area in which merit-based choices are not allowed. This area is highlighted at the end of 2 Peter 1:3-7, the passage we’ve been exploring in this series of devotions on being a godly coach. Quick review: Growth in godliness is foundationally the work of God in us (v. 3). We then take action to partner with God’s work in us by making every effort to supplement our faith with several important qualities (vv. 5-7). Here are the qualities Peter lists: “Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, ⁶ and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, ⁷ and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.”

Godliness includes “love for everyone.” To grow in godliness—which is devotion to God resulting in a life that is pleasing to him—we must resist choosing who we’ll love or not love based on our perceptions of their merit. This is what Jesus models for us and what he commands for his followers. In Luke 10, Jesus and a Jewish man who was “an expert in religious law” (v. 25) were discussing the centrality of loving God fully and loving your neighbor as yourself. Verse 29 says, “The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’” He wants to know who merits his love and who does not.

Jesus responds by telling a parable about a Jewish traveler who was attacked by bandits and left for dead by the side of the road. A Jewish priest comes along but chooses not to help the injured man. Later, a Temple worker sees the man but also chooses to pass by rather than assisting his fellow Jew. Now Jesus inserts a twist in the story (vv. 33-35):

“Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’”

Here’s why this is so unexpected: Among Jewish people at that time, Samaritans were despised for a multitude of reasons. Jews wanted nothing to do with Samaritans, and this in turn fostered animosity among Samaritans toward Jews. Yet it was a Samaritan man, according to Jesus’ parable, that responds to the Jewish man with great compassion. The Samaritan generously meets the man’s many needs. While the injured man’s fellow Jews choose to do nothing, the Samaritan takes loving action.

At the conclusion of the story, the Jewish religious expert must admit that it was the Samaritan who truly lived out the “love your neighbor as yourself” command. Jesus then says, “Now go and do the same” (v. 37). His directive is intended not just for the religious expert. It’s for us as well. Devotion to the Lord is demonstrated in how we love everyone regardless of their “merit.”

Love involves taking sacrificial action for the benefit of others—just as the Samaritan did for the injured Jewish traveler. While sacrificing time, energy, and material resources for the sake of someone else is never easy, it feels especially costly to do so for someone we’d rather minimize contact with or avoid altogether. Coach, think of those in and around your program who rub you the wrong way or whose neediness is draining. You grow in godliness as you ask the Lord to help you have genuine compassion for athletes and others like this. You pursue godliness as you act with generosity toward them. Being a godly coach means choosing to treat everyone with love, no matter how inconvenient or difficult. Love in the way that Jesus loves you.

In 2 Peter 1:8, the verse immediately following the passage we’ve been discussing during this series of devotions, we’re given this promise: “The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The pursuit of godliness is worth it! All these qualities of godliness are part of a deepening closeness with Christ that motivates even greater devotion to him. Then your coaching and your life will produce fruit for the Lord’s glory—fruit of eternal value. Make it your daily goal to be a godly coach!

For reflection: Give thanks to God that out of his love for you, he gives you everything you need for living a godly life. Ask the Lord to show you the next steps he desires for you to take to demonstrate love for those he has placed in your sphere of influence.