Today’s Scripture Reading (December
28, 2014): Acts 20
Colin
Kaepernick, quarterback for the NFL San Francisco 49ers, was rewarded for two
years of excellent play with a record contract last offseason. The contract was
a seven year deal worth $126 million – except that apparently it wasn’t. The
reported contract was apparently for a possible $126 million, on the condition
that Kaepernick was named to either the first or second All-Pro teams, or the
49ers appeared on the Super Bowl every year of the contract. If neither of
these things happened, then the contract de-escalates by two million dollars a
year. Not only that, the contract has a clause that specifies that every year
the 49ers have an opportunity to walk away from the contract and owe Kaepernick
absolutely nothing. With the San Francisco 49ers having already been eliminated
from playoff contention, and Kaepernick languishing in the bottom half of the
league in performance related stats, the de-escalation has already begun. And
while it is unlikely that the 49ers will walk away from Kaepernick this season,
another disastrous year will likely make that a very real option. In the end,
the famous seven year deal for $126 million could end up being just a two year
deal for $26 million. That is still a lot of money, but it is only a fraction
of the deal that could have been.
There is a major
problem with deals like the one the 49ers signed with Kaepernick. The amount of
money that the team has to spend to keep their quarterback happy means that
that money can’t be used in other areas. The Seattle Seahawks this offseason
are going to have to make some similar decisions to keep some of their key pieces
in place. Whether the players like it or not, their salaries are sometimes a
major obstacle to obtaining success that they seek. The 49ers season, and Colin
Kaepernick’s stats, might have been greatly changed if the quarterback had told
the team he would sign for less money as long as the team used the money he was
leaving on the table to put some other key pieces in place. Because the goal
children chase after from early on in life is not usually the money, it is a
win in the championship and be regarded as the best in the sport. And years
from now the only question that will be asked about Colin Kaepernick and his
NFL career will not be how much money the quarterback made, it will be how many
Super Bowl rings he won.
This is
exactly Paul’s point. His eye is firmly on the task that he feels that God has
given to him. And he will trade everything to reach the goal. Paul uses a
sports metaphor here, “to finish the race.” He is chasing after his Super Bowl,
and he is willing to pay any price, not to be paid a price, in order to achieve
that goal. Paul has decided that he will leave it all on the field. He doesn’t
care how the future will regard him. Maybe they will consider him as a great
theologian, or a prestigious church planter, or a tireless missionary. But none
of that matters to him. All he wants to do is to spend his life chasing after
the prize – he wants to win his Super Bowl.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Romans
1
No comments:
Post a Comment