Advice from a Tractor: Cultivate Lasting Friendships

As the regular season comes to a close and playoffs, championship games and bowl season ramps up, one final advice from a tractor:  Cultivate Lasting Friendships

Cultivate means to nurture and help grow.  When you cultivate something, you work to make it better.  Tractors cultivate land to prepare it to plant and grow crops.  It helps the land to be in the best shape for the seeds to grow healthy and strong.

Officials have a unique bond.  It’s interesting how you can bring officials together from throughout the country and work well together.  From my 25 years as an official, I still have officials I keep up with from my first year in my local high school association.  I certainly have more officials I keep up with than people from my high school and college days.

To influence our crew or other officials, listen to the advice from the tractor—CULTIVATE lasting friendships.  If we want our crews to be the best, look for ways to help it grow—Cultivate it.  Notice it does not say just to be a friend.  It says to cultivate.  We have to nurture and look for ways to help people—to make them better.  I believe if we look for ways to make others better, we in turn will become better.

Looking back in our officiating careers, who made the most impact on you?  It had to be someone who cared and took time to invest in you.  I know I had 2-3 guys I could rely on to help me and took time to teach me.  They were really good officials, but even better people.  Here’s the point:

“The people who make a difference in your life are usually not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards.  They simply are the ones who care the most.”

I Corinthians 1:27-29 tells us "God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things that are, so that no-one may boast before him."

As far God is concerned, being His servant is more important than being superstar. When Jesus chose His disciples, they were not the pick of the litter, the cream of crop. They were simply men He knew could be used to establish His kingdom.

Here is an unflattering list of people God used:

Moses stuttered. David’s armor didn’t fit. Jacob was a liar. David had an affair.  Solomon was too rich. Abraham was too old. David was too young. Peter was afraid of death. Lazarus was dead.  Jesus was too poor. Paul was a murderer. Jonah ran from God. Thomas doubted. Elijah was burned out.  Martha was a worrywart.  Samson had long hair. Noah got drunk.

How well are we cultivating the people around us?  Are we helping people grow?

Cultivate your thoughts and actions into positive seeds and see your life, and the people around you, change for the better!