Getting Up After Being Knocked Down
by Charles H. Chandler, Executive Director
Walter Payton died a few months ago. Known as, "Sweetness", he was one of the National Football League's all-time greats, but he fell victim to cancer. Though his 13-year career with the Chicago Bears ended with the 1987 season, many of his records still stand. So does his inspiration.
After his death, I read an article about Payton that said not only was he an example on the football field where he excelled, but he also was a decent and caring human being. He shoveled the snow from his own walks, pumped his own gasoline and shopped for his own groceries. As I read the article, I remembered an event involving Walter and our son, Clayton.
Clayton was standing at the intersection of Green and State streets in Champaign, Ill, during the "Hands Across America" event in the mid 1980s. At the appointed time, Clayton looked toward the person standing next to him and saw Walter Payton with a winsome smile and outstretched hand. After that handshake, Clayton didn't wash his hand for days!
Payton faced death with the same kindness, grace and courage with which he faced life and the game of football. That's why his nickname, "Sweetness", was so appropriate.
The article also mentioned an often- told story about Walter Payton's performance on the field. The Bears were playing the New York Giants on the ABC "Monday Night Football" broadcast. One announcer pointed out that Walter had amassed more than nine miles in career rushing yardage. The other announcer replied, "Yeah, and that's with somebody knocking him down every 4.6 yards."
Few people work or play in as physically demanding - or brutal - a context as professional football. We do, however, get knocked down a lot. And, whether it's every 4.6 yards or once a week, it's often hard to get up again.
Good times are more than a matter of luck, prayer, or knowing the right people. Such times are often the result of keeping on keeping on. In the Bible, it's called "faithfulness" and "perseverance."
It's important that we keep on keeping on in spite of what life hurls toward us. It is also important that we learn from life's experiences. The more painful the experiences, the more potential for growth. Someone else may determine whether we are knocked down. However, we determine whether we get up and keep going.
Here are some lessons I have learned from my experience through a forced determination and from working with hundreds of others who have experienced the same kind of rejection and pain.
One - Every experience in life can help prepare you for the next. In many ways, we are the sum of our experiences. Smaller losses in life help prepare us for the more severe losses that may follow. It is much easier, however, to see God at work when looking back than when looking ahead. Sometimes it takes God a long time to prepare us for our tasks. God expects us to prove ourselves in small blessings before He entrusts us with larger blessings.
Two - They may take your job, but they cannot take your ministry. If your sense of "call" is broad enough, you can always have a ministry. God calls all Christians to Christian service. Christian ministry is not dependent upon a traditional pulpit. The loss of pulpit and freedom did not remove his ministry from the Apostle Paul. It is comforting to know that when put in proper perspective, the worst they can do to you is to fire you. They cannot take your ministry.
Three - what some people meant for evil, God meant for good. It took years for Joseph to realize God had, indeed, been at work in his life while he was rotting in an Egyptian prison. How else, except as a prisoner, could Paul have had access to Caesar's court in Rome? God can transform any experience when it is placed in His hands. Though your antagonists cannot take and credit for it, often those who have experienced forced termination are happier in their new positions after healing from the trauma.
Four - where sin abounds, grace abounds even more abundantly. God told the Apostle Paul that His grace would be sufficient. Indeed, it was -- and will be for you. God's grace will ultimately triumph over the sinful acts of "religious people". You cannot "out give" God, nor can you "out grace" Him. He will supple your every need through Christ Jesus His Son!
Just as Walter Payton provided inspiration to thousands by continuing to get up after being knocked down every 4.6 yards, getting up following a forced termination can provide inspiration to those who are also in the midst of a similar trauma. A minister's Biblical admonition is not to succeed, but to be obedient.