LIFE AS A SPORT Addo-Yobo Alfred, April 2012 Introduction: We have in this world, the Christians as well as those who

belong to the Devil. In this world, God is the controller of all activities. Have you ever wondered why about 80% of people love football??? The explanation is that the game of football has a lot in relation to occurrences in life. Life has two sets of people as said earlier, so is the game of football, having two different sets of players with a central referee. In the game of football, there are two halves which contain two sets of people. Each set of teams or groups has a goal post which they try to protect with a goalkeeper. In order for a team to score, they need to overcome the players from the other team (obstacles). In the same vane, life is not always as smooth as we may want it. For a person to attain or reach Gods planned purpose, we have to go through painful experiences which sometimes result in the loss of a person or a loved one, anguish, etc but all of these, if we are able to overcome and stay strong, will finally lead us to God purpose for our lives. Maybe you have not still understood the relation between football and life but as you read on, you will see the great similarities. Lets take a few facts about football and my definition of them in life; ADDO-YOBOS ALFREDS RELATION BETWEEN FOOTBALL AND LIFE Central Referee Linesman 1 Linesman 2 Linesman Flag Ball Opponents goal net God, the Father God, the Son God, the Holy Spirit Eventualities that happen in the life The Life of a Christian Gods planned purpose The Devil (Satan) The sensual world, worldly things, smoking, death, poverty, etc (Arms of

Opponents goalkeeper Own goal net Devil) -

Opponents half Offside Your goalkeeper Your defenders

Path leading to Gods planned purpose Gods way of halting his children from achieving their goals the wrong way Guardian Angel Gods Angels

Midfielders Wingers Striker Penalties, free kicks Throw ins Coach

Bible verses, sermons, advices, etc Family and friends You, as a person/body. God given opportunities Chances given us to get back on track towards Gods purpose when we drift. Your thought, thinking style

Remember you have to bear in mind the relation above so as to get a better understanding of what would be discussed below. Lets take a moment to describe into details why I chose the relations above; Central Referee - I chose to relate the central referee to God, the father because in life he supersedes every

happening and cautions us when we go wrong. He is the given of all good things, like opportunities like in football, penalties, free kicks, etc. He also punishes us when we go wrong like in football, awards are fouls to opponents when a team tackles an opponent wrongly. Remember, the same way in football the referee having the final say, so is it in life, God, the father has the final say in all affairs of life. Lastly have you realized that lately in the game of football, when the central referee awards a foul to a particular team and the other team complains, he shows them a card. This also tell us to be very careful not to doubt the decisions of God in our lives, we always have to accept his rules else, like in football we would get punished.

Linesmen I chose to relate the linesmen to God the son and Holy Spirit, this is because like in the game of

football, the linesmen sometimes call the central referee over to either overturn or award a decision, so is it also in life, God the Son and Holy Spirit sometimes intercede on our behalf when we go wrong.

Linesmen flag The flag of the linesmen are raised in the game of football so as to prevent a team from

scoring a goal through an unallowed route. When off sides are whistled it causes the players to fume, complain and murmur. So is it in life, eventualities happen in our lives which makes us to complain but this could also be a sign of unapproved routes to Gods planned purpose (opponents goal net) for our lives.

Opponents goal net In the game of football, when a goal is scored by a team, there is joy. A team is always

keen to put the ball into the net of the opponent. Same way in life, when we (ball) get into Gods planned purpose (opponents goal net) for our lives, everybody in our team (midfielders, defenders, etc) is so excited for us. Have you also realized that when a goal is scored, the keeper as well as the defenders are all excited, this also infers that when we get into Gods planned purpose for our lives, the angels I heaven are all glad as well.

Opponents goal keeper The goal keeper of the opponents is always present to make sure that the ball

doesnt get into their net. So is it in life, the devil (opponents goal keeper) is always vigilant to make sure that the ball (your life) does not get into Gods planned purpose (opponents goal net).

Opponents half This is the portion of the pitch that contains the most opponents. For a player to score, he

has to go through all of the opposition in their half. This is the most difficult part of the pitch for a particular team in their attempt to score. I brand this part as the path leading to Gods planned purpose (opponents goal net) because in our quest to get into God plan for our lives, we are going to encounter lots of impediments, pains, afflictions (tackles, fouls, etc) but we need to be strong. This is where we need good counsel, right attitude (midfielders), family & friends (wingers) in order to reach Gods planned purpose (opponents goal net) for our lives. Thus as Christians, when a time comes in our lives when we in so much pain and afflictions and feels so difficult, we should remember that we may be on the path to Gods planned purpose for our lives.

Own goal net In the game of football, no team wants to get the ball into their own net. This translates in life

such that the life (ball) of a Christian would not want to get into the worldly stuff like smoking, drugs, etc (own goal net). A team is always ready to keep the ball away from their goal net. This also translates that the angels (defenders), family & good friends (wingers) as well as good attitude, good counsel (midfielders) are also keen to keep our lives (ball) from entering own goal net (the sensual world).

Your defenders These I describe as angels. Defenders are virtually the last resort when family & friends as

well as attitude have failed to keep us away from evil, the angels of God (defenders) are always there to shield the our lives (ball) from getting into our goal net. Let us be confident in this that God will always send his angels to guard us when the going gets tough.

Coach This I describe as your thinking style or your thought. A coach in a football always takes decisions on

the change in the midfielders (attitude or counsel) at a time in a match (world) so as to produce good result. Let us as Christians develop good thoughts. No coach is narrow minded, when the going gets tough in a football match, the manager has to change tactics so are we supposed to as Christians.

Throw ins, penalties, free kicks These are opportunities in football match, where a team has a glorious

opportunity to get towards the opponents half and score a goal. This also relates to life in many ways. Lets first take a look at throw ins. When an opponent kicks the ball out of play, it is just like the devils agent making your life (ball) drift from Gods planned purpose (opponents goal net) for your life. When an opponent kicks the ball out of play, they

do not get the chance to throw the ball but rather the opposing team. This means that when we drift from the presence of God, we always have the opportunity (throw in) to get back on track towards Gods planned purpose. We just have to utilize the opportunity very well. Free kicks and penalties are also examples of similar opportunities. Have you realized the difference between free kicks, penalties and throw ins? For the free kicks, depending on its closeness to the opponents goal net, we either kick straight or we pass, for penalties, we cannot pass but straight to the goal net. In these two cases, we use the leg but for the throw ins, we use the hands. This means that different situations in life require different solutions, sometimes we may need others along the way to get to our destination and at other times we will need to take instant decisions ourselves. In most cases, it is the ball that enters the net and not the striker. This could also translate that in life that

in the end, the flesh or body (striker) would not get to heaven (Gods planned purpose) but rather the soul (life).

Now that we have seen my definition of parameters in football and their relation to happenings or parameters in everyday life, we are now in the position to get a better understanding of the in-depth relation between the two (Football & Life). Lets now take a closer look at a detailed description of the relations above: In life, there are always choices, the choice to do good or evil. In the game of football, the only way by which one can score a goal is when a player approaches an opponents half. In a players attempt to score a goal, there may be obstacles in their way, so is it clear also in the life of a Christian. When a Christian fully dedicates himself to the course of Christ and bent on achieving Gods planned purpose for his/her life, he may also encounter impediments along the way.

ANALYSIS OF FOOTBALL FACTS AND THEIR RELATION TO LIFE. A team can always choose to play inside their half without approaching the opponents. These is very true

but remember that even when a particular team decides to play in their half, the players from the other team get into the opponents half and try to get the ball to score. With the meaning of the parameters in football in everyday life in mind, lets take into consideration that in life when you decide to play around with your life with your friends and family and not approach Gods planned purpose for your life which in football is the opponents goal net, the agents of the Devil try as much as they can to get your life into their masters fold (Your goal net). Thus remember that in going through your everyday life, in anything you do, whether you lag around doing nothing and thinking that its only those who try to get closer to God that the Devil tries to attack, you would be mistaken. The devil prys on any soul. The devil is moving around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Even this verse tells us, like in the game of football, the opposition players are always running around even if you decide to play in your half.

The goalkeepers of both sides mostly stay in one place protecting the goalpost and dont walk around the

pitch like the players do In football, the tasks of the goalkeepers are to protect the goal area. In life, the guardian angels are in place to guard our lives (ball) from the worldly things, smoking, death, etc (own goal net). So as the goalkeeper of a team is not allowed to even sit to take a rest because a slight slack could lead to goals for the opponents, that is the same also in life where our guardian angels do not sleep nor slumber but are always alert to keep our lives safe.

goals

In the game of football, it is very rare to find players of a particular teams intentionally scoring own

This is also manifested in life where family, friends (wingers), bible verse, preaching, sound advices, good counsel, good attitude (midfielders), towards tasks assigned to us hardly lead the life of Christians into the sensual world or the arms of the devil (Own goal net). The players of a particular are always keen to direct the ball from their half into the opponents goalpost (Gods planned purpose). Accordingly to this correlation, when a Christian cultivates good attitudes, good friends, family, read their bibles, etc, they will eventually find themselves in Gods planned purpose for their lives.

In the game of football, managers/coaches sometimes make substitutions or change the formation to a

team and we sit behind our televisions and complain and shout at the coach but these changes sometimes produce good results. How does this relate to everyday life situations>>> In everyday life situations, we may begin a venture with some kind of attitude or may be reading a particular bible verse when we find ourselves in a difficult. This may seem to be working effectively but in the event where the situation changes, we would also need to change our attitude or refer to another portion of scripture to derive inspiration to deal with the pressing situation at hand. At 9:00am on Sunday morning, Diki felt aches in his head and so was advised to take paracetamol. After church service, she started feeling feverish; will the paracetamol be appropriate for the current situation??? Most rightly no> this is because a new situation has come up which demands another alternative. A better remedy such as Artemether Lumefantrine which is an anti-malaria drug better suited for the change. Lets take a situation of Alfred with a lazy attitude to work as a young boy. He finished his university education and had a job with VALCO which demands a lot of hard work. He may get himself fired sooner rather than later if he doesnt change his attitude to work, due to the new situation and environment, he finds himself in. In life also, God sometimes puts us in situations where we think he has changed our plans, probably work, lady/man you want to marry, etc and may complain but with patience, collective support from family and friends, Gods desired results could be achieved. When the going gets tough in life, try changing an attitude of yours, read other portions of scripture and they may lead you to the Promised Land. Have you realized that managers or coaches sometimes one change at a

time and other times too all the three substitutes come on at the same time? Christians will also need to sometimes in their lives change two or three attitudes or our entire attitude of themselves in order to fit into Gods planned purpose for their lives. In order for you to work in a manufacturing company, one needs to be hard working, disciplined, careful, etc. All these attitudes must work together in order for one to be better suited for a particular job. One cannot hard working and yet careless to fit in a manufacturing company and so the two must work in hand for best results to be achieved. So if things are not working for you in a venture, try changing some few friends, attitudes and you could be good to go.

Have you realized that in the game of football, it is the strikers who score that the goals after the

midfielders and the wingers play round the pitch? How does this also to everyday life situations? In the game of football, it is mostly the strikers who finally put the ball into the back of the net. This also translates into life where in most cases it us as a person who takes the final decision for our lives. Our friends, family (wingers) could support us with advices on our attitudes, verses from Gods word (midfielders) but we as people (striker) will have to take the last decision on whether to place our lives (Ball) into Gods planned purpose. Remember, Asamoah Gyan of Ghana at the 2010 World Cup, an opportunity was given him after Adiyiah ball was handled by Luis Suarez in the penalty area. Here, the midfielders had done all the hard work and Gyan had the opportunity to take Ghana to the Promised Land (Semi-finals) but he kicked the ball out. This also translates into life where our friends and advices could be given us but if we do not take the right decision at the end, we would find our lives (ball) outside Gods planned purpose (outside the playing pitch). What we would become will finally depend on us, so lets be careful.

The central referee in a football match sometimes shows a straight red card. Other times he shows a

yellow card. How does this also relate to everyday life happenings>>>> If I saying that the central referee in a football can be likened to God, the father in this life we find ourselves in, then why would he take some of our friends or family(wingers) from the world (playing pitch), does God care at all in this situation??? Yes he does. In life you may be rolling with some people or friends which you may think would lead you to your planned goal which may be Gods planned purpose for your life but since God, the father (central referee) being omniscient and having a better understanding of the journey of life, takes some friends, family, boyfriends, girlfriends, attitude (midfielders or wingers) from our side in order for things to get better. The presence of these people could lead us astray, probably through an own goal (devils graceful arms, death, etc) in a football match. Most teams have gone on to win matches with fewer numbers of players and thus a Christians in the course of living our lives, when we lose something so dear to us, it is probably God speaking. Have you ever experienced a situation where you planned on taking a decision on lets say, a flight delayed and you got so pissed that you were going to get to your destination later than you expect, only to hear that the airplane experienced a crash along its way. Would you have wished to have enjoyed the feeling of sitting in plane only to crash and lose your life in just 20 minutes or rather be delayed only to have your chance the next day. In this example, the delay in the flight could be a loss of player in a

football match through a red card which causes most players to fumes on the pitch. Also, your life being saved from the crashed plane could also be likened to the possibility of that player shown a scoring an own goal in the match. In thermodynamics, there is a corollary which says that energy lost at one place is gained at another and this make the change zero. Lets not grumble as Christians when seemingly bad stuff happens to us, God is in control.

In a football match, my team gets a chance to score a goal, only for the central referee to whistle for an

offside. If God, the father is the central, why does he prevent me (striker) from putting my life into the opponents net (Gods planned purpose)>>>> God may have told you in a dream that Alfred, you will (future tense, unspecified) be wealthy. All you have to do is to work diligently towards that goal of becoming wealthy. Lets take the acquisition of wealth as the opponents goal net. Remember that the opponents goal net is not there empty for you to put the ball into net but has a goalkeeper, so in life, before you approach Gods planned purpose (opponents goal net), you have to first get passed the devil (opponents goalkeeper). Have you ever observed in football match where a striker approaches an opponents goal net and the goalkeeper just stand stiff just to allow the strike the ball into the net?? Never!!! God, the father always wants us to do the right thing and get to his planned purpose for our lives his way. So in a football match, the central referee always wants the players to score goals the right way. To the subject of offsides>> Sometimes, the linesmen (God, the son or Holy Spirit) flag for offsides. As students in school, we may be writing examination and would want to do anything possible to excel (Gods planned purpose). Because we are inadequate to pass that paper, we tend to cheat in the exam only to be caught. Here, you wanted to get to Gods planned purpose for your life through the wrong means (cheating) and so he stops you. This happens in football where a team tries to use an offside to score a goal only for the lineman (God the son) to flag. Now tell me this, when the referee whistles for offside, which team gets the chance to play the ball???? Obviously the opposing team>>> Now when an offside is whistled against you, the devils people (opponents) gets the chance to play you around and your family, friends (wingers), having the right attitude, inspiration from Gods word (midfielders) is required to get your life back on track. The opposition playing you (Your life) after an offside has been whistled against you could manifest in everyday life as pain, rustication from, suspension, etc. Lets also turn out attention to young adults. God in his wisdom has designed sex for married couples but some of us would want to enjoy this lovely planned purpose by God for married through a wrong means. When we do that, offside flags are sometimes shown us and we have to pay the consequences which could be unwanted pregnancies, inability to give birth in future, etc. This gives the chance to opponents, play you around (through mocking you, calling you names, etc). You have to struggle to get the ball back with pain and hard work probably through fasting, prayers, not having a man coming your way, etc. If as Christians, we want to avoid all these we would have to have patience to achieve Gods planned purpose for our lives the right way.

Have you also realized that sometimes, it is so clear that a player is in an offside position but both the

linesman and the central referee choose to let the play move on? How does this translate into everyday life situation>>> People mostly get away with the evil they do. I guess you may know some lady somewhere in your area who is a big time slut, been sleeping around with different guys, with so many abortions and yet they get married to seemingly wealthy husbands and still have children. Others also have just one abortion and their womb gets destructed and cannot get pregnant. Remember the book of psalms says that the ungodly and not so, but are like chaff that the wind driveth away. Nobody can monitor the growth of weeds but always remember to clear them anyway. Children produced from such marriage could have so many complications of autisms, etc. The way God works in this respect on why he allows some things to go whereas punishing others n the same instant may never be understood.

Sometimes in football matches, teams come from two or three goals down to win matches. Can this

translate in everyday life? Many teams in football history have come from two or three goals down to win a match. In life, a person could begin from the humbles of beginning with basically nothing to eat or drink but through perseverance and hard work, he or she may grow to become influential in society. Like in a game of football when the going gets tough and managers makes changes to the team so are also supposed to sometimes change our approach to lifes situation in order for us to cope and overcome the pressing situation. When so down in life and all hopes seemed lost, lets take a cue from football games where teams have staged an almost impossible come back to win a match.

How do throw ins, free kicks, penalties, fouls relate to everyday life situations???

In the game of football, throw ins first and foremost are awarded when an opposing kicks the ball outside the playing area. The central referee then gives the other team is then given the opportunity to reorganize and approach the other goal area (Gods planned purpose). Likewise in life, when the devil tries to prevent us (ball) from approaching Gods planned purpose (opponents goal net) by inflicting pain in form of sickness, etc, the God, the father (Central referee) whistles to give us a throw in (Opportunity) to approach his planned purpose (opponents goal net). Sometimes, you realize in football that a team in their quest to approach the opponents goal post, they return and pass the ball back to the midfielders in order to re-organize. So also in life when the going gets tough, we (striker) need to resort to (get back) family, friends (wingers), advice, bible verse, the right attitude (midfielders), etc in order to get back on track towards Gods planned purpose for our lives. Sometimes in a football match, a player is injured and it results in a penalty, bearing in mind that a penalty is only awarded to a team when a player is fouled very close to the opponents goal area. A penalty is the best opportunity for a team to score a goal. A foul in the penalty area mostly attracts a red card. You also find in football that most players try to dive in the penalty box just to get an opportunity to score. This is translated in everyday life when Christians mess up a glorious chance to get to Gods planned purpose for their lives.

Lets take an example of a to-be couple who have sex the night before their wedding>>> Remember the same way the central referee is always or mostly around the area when a player dives, so is God, the father around when the to-be couple fornicate. Now penalties result in yellow card, so does fornication in the example above come with punishment which is mostly decided by God. As Christians we should remember that when we feel the most pain or affliction in our lives, this could be a sign of our closeness to Gods planned purpose for our lives. Also a striker (you) in a football get lots of defenders (foes) around him trying to get the ball (your life) when he is inside the penalty area (closest to Gods planned purpose). This means that when we are in so much pain in our lives as Christians we can take a cue from football and note that if a striker (you) is able to overcome the opposition, he will be able to put the ball (your life) into the opponents goal net (Gods planned purpose).

Finally, have you realized that when a team scores a goal, they dont get to pass the ball but rather the opponents? This also means that when we (your life) get into Gods planned purpose (opponents goal net), the devils people do not leave alone but rather are given room to attack us. When a team A scores, the other team B goes to attack the other team to as to score. This means that when we get into Gods planned purpose for our lives, the Devils people attacks us the more. Have you also realized that when in football, a team scores, they are likely to defend and protect the goal theyve scored? This is also an advice for us Christians that when we achieve something in life which could probably be Gods planned purpose for our lives, we need to tighten things up. This is the time, all the midfielder (right attitude, bible verses), wingers (family & friends) need to work together to protect the ball (lives) from getting to the opposition.

Conclusion: We always as Christians have a decision on how we want to lead our lives, but always remember that a little slack, will not guarantee that the devils agents will not be interested in your life. So as in a football game, we witness that members of a team do not tackle or foul themselves but rather the opposition, so is it in life, the devils agents would not inflict pain on themselves but rather the opposition (Christians and their families). Opposing teams sometimes foul a good player in a team so as to take him out of the match. This also translates in life that the devils people will do anything to turn out good thoughts away from God, so lets be careful. Lastly, life like a game of football has lots of choices; we can choose to dribble or pass the ball amongst ourselves in our half of the pitch and not approach the goalpost of the opponents. We can also dribble the ball to the opponents goal area but remember that it would be difficult to meander through the opponents alone. Take a closer look at how the team Barcelona fc plays their type of football. Their strategic passing skill disorganizes their opponents and makes it easy for them to score lots of goals. This can also be an advice to us that in life, we need the collective effort of friends, family (wingers) right attitude, good counsels, advices, inspiration from Gods word (midfielders), etc in order to achieve Gods planned purpose for our lives.