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This week, athletes have provided us pictures of self-control. They can also illustrate the opposite. Some athletes don’t control their tempers, leading to penalties, injuries and losses. Jeff Nilsson compiled a list in 2015 of the “Top 25 Most Undisciplined and Dirtiest Players in World Football.” Nilsson was looking at the sport Americans call soccer. One of the players on his list is Luis Suarez. Here’s what Nilsson wrote about him: “Wherever Luis Suarez has gone controversy has gone with him. He deliberated handled the ball to prevent a Ghanaian goal in the World Cup in South Africa, he has bitten three players, been at the center of a racial abuse allegation and also had his own share of diving allegations. It really is too bad that all of this baggage will be with him for the rest of his career because the Uruguayan footballer can be fantastic when he’s focussed[sic]. Whether on International duty or playing for his club, Suarez can be absolutely unstoppable. Unfortunately, his competitive side gets out of control and with it his temper and voice of reason.”*
Have you ever known someone who had a lot of talent, but their lack of self-control sabotaged their efforts? Maybe they were undisciplined or lacked restraint. This is one reason why God has given us his Spirit – he desires us to have self-control. Follow the Spirit’s leading to live with self-restraint.
*Jeff Nilsson, “Top 25 Most Undisciplined and Dirtiest Players in World Football,” The Sportster, January 8, 2015, https://www.thesportster.com/soccer/top-25-most-undisciplined-and-dirtiest-players-in-world-football/
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Bumper music “Landing Place” performed by Mark July, used under license from Shutterstock.