The Power of Diligence

Scripture:

“Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.” — Proverbs 10:4

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Devotional Message:
Diligence is more than just hard work—it’s a mindset of care, persistence, and conscientiousness in everything we do. Solomon reminds us in Proverbs 10:4 that diligence can “tip the scales” of life in our favor. This verse is a call to consistent effort, reminding us that success is often the result of steady, faithful work over time. For sports officials, this truth is especially relevant. We face challenges like missed calls, communication breakdowns, and crew conflicts. Yet, through steady effort and a commitment to improvement, we can overcome these obstacles.

History gives us powerful examples of diligence defeating doubt:

• Henry Ford was told his dream of mass-producing cars was impossible.
• The Wright brothers were mocked for believing they could fly.

They didn’t give up. Their diligence changed the world.

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Reflection/Application:
As officials, how can we embody diligence in our roles?

• Review game footage—both individually and with your crew.
• Study rules and mechanics persistently.
• Stay calm and communicate effectively during games.
• Step up and step in when situations feel off.
• Rest and recover after each game to stay sharp.

Success in officiating isn’t just about talent—it’s about how much we care. Our diligence reflects our commitment to excellence, both individually and as a crew.

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Prayer:
Lord, help me to be diligent in all I do. Give me the strength to persist through challenges and the wisdom to grow from every experience. May my efforts honor You and uplift those I work with. Amen.

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Closing Thought:
Diligence doesn’t guarantee perfection—but it does guarantee progress. Let your commitment to excellence speak louder than any doubt.

Be Offensive

Scripture

“Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.”
— Proverbs 29:25 (NIV)

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Reflection

Convictions are more than preferences—they are deeply held beliefs that guide our actions. Whether it's Head Coach deciding on a quarterback or an official deciding when to speak up when things don’t seem right, convictions move us toward purposeful decisions.

But what holds us back? Often, it’s fear—especially the fear of offending others. This fear can silence us when we should speak up. As Christians, we sometimes dilute our language or soften our stance to avoid discomfort. Yet, Proverb 29 reminds us that fear is a trap, but the trust in the Lord is our safety.

Ray Pritchard, in Finding Wisdom in the Proverbs, quotes William Arnot of the Scotland Arnott Bakehouse: “While knowledge of the truth is almost universal, the practice of what is right is rare.”

This is a call to action. Knowing the truth isn’t enough—we must act on it.

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Application

As officials, leaders, or believers, we are often faced with situations where we know what’s right but hesitate to act. In a football game, if a penalty is being enforced incorrectly, do we speak up or stay silent or hesitate to avoid conflict?

Being offensive doesn’t mean being rude—it means being bold and proactive in standing for truth. Trusting in God gives us the courage to act on our convictions, even when it’s uncomfortable.

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Prayer

Lord, help me to overcome the fear of man and trust in You.
Give me the courage to speak truth and act on my convictions.
Let me be bold in love, firm in faith, and offensive when expressing the truth calls for it.

Amen.

Carry the Worm!

 

🐜“Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!” – Proverbs 6:6–8

“Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer.” – Proverbs 30:25

Ants are mentioned in the Bible twice, both times in the book of Proverbs (Proverbs 6: 7-8 and Proverbs 30: 25). Ants don’t wait for a supervisor—they work together, prepare ahead, and carry loads no single ant could manage alone. In the devotional “Finding Wisdom in the Proverbs,” author Ray Pritchard shares a real-world example: one summer day, he saw an army of ants carrying an earthworm. No single ant could carry it alone, but together they accomplished the task. Their teamwork and preparation were key. Solomon, a King in the Bible and believed to the be the writer of the Book of Proverbs, points out that ants have no supervisor or manager, yet they work diligently and prepare for the future. Despite their small size and limited strength, they store enough food to survive the winter.

As sports officials, we carry individual responsibilities such as studying rules and video, staying physically fit, and caring for our families.  But we also function as part of a crew. Like ants, we shouldn’t wait for someone to prompt us on what to do. We must be proactive and look for ways to support the crew. Don’t wait to be given an assignment. Take initiative. Anticipate needs. Act in advance. Offer to lead pregame topic, pull video on play situations, or quiz the crew on rules.

Just as the ants carried the earthworm, the best officiating crews are carried by each member working together. In a crew of officials, no single official can officiate the game alone as effectively as the full crew. The lesson is clear: we are weaker individually and stronger united. 

“Carry the Worm!”

Reflect

•            What responsibilities do I have on my crew? Am I handling them well?

•            Am I taking initiative or waiting to be told?

•            How can I help my crew prepare better? Is there a role that I can lead?

Pray

•            Lord, help me be diligent like the ant.

•            Give me wisdom and courage to act.

•            Unite our crew in strength and purpose.

Ambassador

An ambassador is the highest-ranking diplomat to represent a nation. The ambassador lives in a foreign land but is not a citizen of that foreign land.  Instead, his/her purpose in living in the foreign country is to represent his home nation and advance its interests in the foreign country. Ambassadors are the face of the country they represent.

The responsibilities of an ambassador are many and challenging. They must positively represent their home country, be a good negotiator, and be comfortable in difficult situations. If they are rude and unpleasant, they make a negative impression on the country they represent.  An ambassador must not be concerned about personal desires or views but faithfully represent the person or country that sent them. Being chosen as an ambassador is a significant mark of trust and integrity.

Officials can also be viewed as ambassadors of the game in which they officiate. Much like ambassadors who represent a country, officials have challenging jobs, must positively represent the game, handle difficult situations in a calm manner, and communicate effectively with crewmates, coaches, players, and administrators. Officials should not be concerned with self, but with what is right for the game and benefits the crew.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” 2 Corinthians 5:20

God calls His believers to be His ambassadors on earth by serving others, loving others, and teaching others. Christ followers are ambassadors by daily bringing God the glory, and not self.

      --Foreign ambassadors uphold the country’s interest they represent.

     --Christian ambassadors serve, love, and teach God’s plans and purpose.

     --Officials are ambassadors by being great representatives of the game, not self.

To be a great ambassador as an Official means to faithfully represent your sport every day, have passion for the work, seek the well-being of all involved, communicate effectively, and have pride in what you do!

 https://www.todayintheword.org/daily-devotional/unwrapped/called-to-be-ambassadors/

 https://todaydevotional.com/devotions/ambassadors-1

 https://www.touchinglives.org/devotionals/ambassadors

 https://maglife.org/be-a-faithful-ambassador/

Encourage

 

The following verse is a great reminder that a little encouragement goes a long way. 

 

“Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up.” – Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

 (https://www.biblestudytools.com/ecclesiastes/passage/?q=ecclesiastes+4:9-12)

 

This time of year brings added stress to officials, coaches, players, administrators and fans. Teams are fighting for the postseason and coaches are fighting for jobs. Officials are balancing end-of-year work responsibilities while working towards finishing the year strong as a crew. Also, at this time of the year, we experience an increase in family interactions which brings its own set of challenges. In the middle of stress, how do we encourage?

 

At some point, each of us has been on the receiving end of encouragement. Encouragement takes many forms--a few cheerful words, a short uplifting note, or maybe just the steadying comfort of someone’s presence. How do you feel when you receive these gifts of encouragement? Encouragement usually makes it easier to handle each day's pressure knowing you had someone else by our side. 

 

As we enter this week’s games, pressure continues to mount for teams to win and for officials to administer games appropriately. Embrace Mark Twain’s words…."[t]he best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up." Let’s be the “two” in Ecclesiastes 4:9 where we are the ones others can count on to support them when they fall because we are an encourager.

 

"Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing." - 1 Thessalonians 5:11

 

Credit to Ryan Wingers

Emotions(less)

During the 1970s, psychologist Paul Eckman identified six basic emotions he suggested were universally experienced by all humans: (1) happiness, (2) sadness, (3) disgust, (4) fear, (5) surprise, and (6) anger. He later expanded his list of basic emotions to include pride, shame, embarrassment, and excitement. In 2017, another study of emotions suggested many more basic emotions than previously studied. In a study published in “Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences”, researchers identified 27 different categories of emotions.  Instead of being distinct, researchers found people often experience many emotions intertwined resulting in a wide variety of feelings and emotions.

Daily, emotions influence how we interact with others while impacting the decisions we make. By understanding and recognizing different types of emotions, we can gain better understanding of how our own emotions are expressed and the impact on our behavior. Recognizing emotions involves attending to what your body is doing (tightened muscles, stomach pain, sweats, sensory changes). Then, we can identify what the emotion is….sadness, anxiety, fear, depression, etc. Keep in mind that it is impossible to have an emotion without a thought first.  For example, if you are told to ‘feel angry,’ nothing would happen.  However, if you were asked to think back to a time when a person cut you off in traffic, that likely would produce a feeling of anger!  Identifying our thoughts is the best way to understand the emotions that follow.

 

As officials, we are surrounded by various emotions, including our own.  Coaches, players, administrators and fans all bring a wide range of emotions--excitement, anger, sadness, and happiness to name a few. Officials also experience a range of emotions from excitement to nervousness to anger. However, as officials, we are called to control our emotions and to limit the outward appearance of them. So, in a stadium filled with emotions, how do we control our own emotions?

Cornerstone Christian Counseling in Colorado Springs, CO explained five steps to achieving control of our emotions: (https://christiancounselingco.com/controlling-your-emotions/)

Step 1:  Understand that we all have emotions, because God created us that way.

Jesus showed emotions: disappointment, anger, grief, weeping, joy, peace, pain.

Step 2: Make a conscious effort to take charge of your emotions.  Unlike the animal kingdom, which responds based on fear (fight or flight), we should respond based on rational thought DESPITE how we feel.  

Step 3: Acknowledge negative emotions will happen (ex: anger, anxiety, sadness, jealousy, guilt). Remember, these are JUST emotions.  There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ to these emotions. Jesus experienced negative feelings yet DID NOT SIN. “Be angry and do not sin.” Eph. 4:26

Step 4: Once you recognize the feeling(s), it is time to make a choice on how to respond. This is where ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ can be placed.  For example, ANGER is a feeling, but there are healthy and unhealthy ways to respond.  

Step 5: Remember that no one is perfect.  But, we do have a responsibility to handle our emotions in productive, mature ways.

 

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23

 

https://www.verywellmind.com/an-overview-of-the-types-of-emotions-4163976

Speak Out

According to Britannica, the “bystander effect” is the inhibiting influence of the presence of others on a person’s willingness to help someone in need. In other words, the bystander effect is when an individual is less likely to help when others are around.

Whether you are a first year official or a long-standing veteran, we’ve all been in situations where we wished someone, including you and me, would have stepped up to help the crew fix a clock error, penalty enforcement mistake, or any other issue. What does it take to step up? First let’s look at two quotes to get our minds around getting past the “bystander effect”:

 

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”—Benjamin Franklin

“Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something.” – Plato

 

Be it on the field, at work, or at home, there can be various reasons we choose not to help even though we think, or know, we should.

·        We assume a more veteran official or senior co-worker will say something.

·        Fear that others will think we are out of line to speak up.

·        If wrong, we worry about what others will think.

 

Regardless of the reason, it’s easy in hindsight to see if someone had just stepped up to ask a question or bring forward new information, unnecessary errors on the field, conflicts with family, or headaches with a project could have been prevented. Even more frustrating is when we are back in the locker room, or after it’s too late to make changes, someone decides to tell the group they thought something was wrong? We know there are times to speak up and times to be silent.

 

What is needed to break the bystander effect? Discernment…discernment to know the difference between having something to say and having to say something.

 

And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, so that you can approve the things that are superior and can be pure and blameless in the day of Christ. (Philippians 1:9-10)

Paul was speaking to the church of Phillipi to continue to grow in love for God thru knowledge and discernment.  Specifically, discernment helps us see beyond the surface; it helps us avoid being deceived and harmful situations. Discernment strengthens our ability to become gatekeepers—knowing what to let in and knowing when to speak out.

Spend an ounce of prevention to bring a pound of cure.

Devotion from Ryan Wingers (ACC Football Official)

Distractions

What is the #1 way to increase focus?  Remove distractions. So what are these distractions that compete for our attention? Well, that depends on the task in which we are trying to direct our focus. If I’m trying to get rest, my bed is not a distraction but watching TV or scrolling through social media are ones. Not all distractions are bad. Spending time with family or spouse, reading a book, job responsibilities, and household chores are not within themselves distractions. However, depending on the context of what needs to be focused on, they might be distractions. For example, if I have a project at work that needs to be completed, taking 30 minutes to finish reading a book is a distraction.

As an official, what distracts us? Off the field, we have job responsibilities, family to take care of, health issues, and travel issues. On the field, irate fans, upset coaches, people on the sideline, weather, the previous play, and other officials can and do distract us resulting in us losing focus.

John “Gucci” Foley, former Blue Angel pilot, challenges us to decrease our distractions by doing two things:

·         Concentrate into a single point of focus: this is where habits are formed (“unconscious competence”)

·         Adopt a “Glad to be Here” mindset: with a mindset of gratitude and gratefulness, focus is multiplied

Click on the following link for the more details by Foley on this topic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rXQNPKHarE

When life happens--frustration, anxiety, anger, multiple priorities--we get distracted. In Philippians 4: 8-9, Paul and Timothy addressed the church of Philippi and encouraged them to stay focused.  “8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.” When we place focus in the right place, God provides peace, joy, and strength. All the busyness and responsibilities of life want to shake and distract us, but God says to “fix” our eyes on Him to not be shaken—to stay focused!

Feed your focus. Starve your distractions.

https://thecove.org/blog/where-is-your-focus/#:~:text=The%20Lord%20says%20that%20we,praise%2C%20think%20on%20these%20things.

Proper Gear

 

A pastor took a retreat to Alaska, and at the camp where he was staying the weather was cold and rainy every day. The pastor asked the camp director how do people deal with the gloomy, rainy weather day in and day out. The director responded, “Pastor, we don’t have bad weather, we only have bad gear.” The point the director expressed was that we can’t control the weather, but we can control our preparation and response to it.

As an official, do we bring the proper gear each game?

§  Mentally: Review prior game evaluation and make adjustments as needed and necessary both individually and as a crew. Study rules and mechanics to improve each week.

§  Physically: Keep ourselves in good physical shape with rest, recovery and continued exercise as needed. If we feel sick, do we get the appropriate help from doctors and take the medicine we need?

§  Emotionally: Removing negative thoughts, listening to music and podcasts, watching a movie or another form of relaxation, and deep breathing help to calm us the days leading up to a game. During the game, our pre-snap routine, support from other officials, forgetting the last play, and calm-breathing help to keep our emotions in balance.

§  Spiritually:  Study the Bible, listen to a sermon, read a devotion, and spend time in prayer are some of the ways to be spiritually in tune with God and properly prepared.

2 Timothy 4:2 (NIV):  Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.

Paul was challenging and teaching Timothy to focus his ministry on communicating God's truth. In this verse, Paul gave Timothy specific instructions:

o   Timothy was to be ready to preach and teach “in season”—when it was convenient. These times are when Timothy (and us) should be most prepared.

o   Timothy was also to be ready when preaching and teaching was not convenient ("out of season"). The out of season times are when Timothy found speaking God’s Word was awkward, difficult to understand, or when people resisted it.

o   Timothy was to also to lead by providing correction when he or others were wrong or not living by God’s instructions and being a positive influence.

o   Timothy was to do his preaching and instruction with patience and love—not thru resistance and anger.

With the right gear, we are able to respond to “weather” with tact, discretion, and wisdom. 

What does 2 Timothy 4:2 mean? | BibleRef.com

Ownership

Used as a verb, the word “ownership” is defined as proactive in solving problems, taking responsibility for outcomes, and learning from mistakes and success. The level of ownership a person partakes can typically be categorized as follows:

·         Category 1: Reports and/or vocalizes a problem but that’s the extent.

·         Category 2: Reports and/or vocalizes a problem and offers potential solutions or ideas.

·         Category 3: Reports and/or vocalizes a problem after taking action to solve the problem to the best of their ability.

·         Category 4: Leads proactively to prevent or limit problems from occurring.

What category of ownership do you exhibit in your everyday life with relationships and work? In officiating, what category of ownership do you take with your assignments and with your crew? In crew meetings, do you actively participate by seeking information and offering solutions? During pregame warm-ups, do you check the boundaries to make sure objects are clear? During the game, do you check the down box each down to make sure it is in the right position and down? After the game, do you offer information on a foul that would have been useful during the game? After reviewing the evaluation, what ownership do you take? Do you reach categories 3 and 4 to proactively realize the problem, take action to resolve, and then implement processes to improve going forward?

Wayne Gretsky, one of the greatest professional hockey players, had this philosophy as it pertains to ownership: “Most players skate to where the puck is. I skate to where it is going to be.” The point is Gretsky didn’t just skate towards the problem. He recognized and identified what was needed (the puck) and anticipated what was needed to be done (where the puck was going).

When life is not going our way, we often seek to place blame on someone or something and usually not ourselves. In the Bible, Job’s wife blamed God for the hardships that fell on them and even tried to convince her husband to curse God (Job 2:9--Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold firm your integrity? Curse God and die!”). Job lost all his property, his children died, and he suffered physically. But Job was faithful and continued to praise God through all the trials. Because of Job’s steadfastness and ownership, God restored Job to an even greater extent than before all his troubles and hardship.

“And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.” (Job 42:10, ESV)

God expects us to take ownership for our actions instead of refusing to take responsibility and blaming others for our problems or mistakes. Extreme ownership is not pawning off blame and troubles on others but identifying potential problems and striving to resolve them before they manifest.

So, what does a person with “category 4” ownership look like: personally accountable, trustworthy, upholds his or her word, reliable, learns from mistakes, proactively looks for resolutions, and sacrifices for the good of others.

“Responsibility equals accountability equals ownership. And a sense of ownership is the most powerful weapon a team or organization can have.” – Pat Summitt, college basketball player and head coach for the University of Tennessee Lady Vols