Losing in the Preparation

Less than two weeks ago, Los Angeles Chargers offensive tackle Rashawn Slater negotiated a new contract, making him the highest-paid offensive lineman by average annual salary in NFL history.

But fast-forward to today, and Slater is no longer celebrating the way that he was when he put pen to paper on his four-year, $113 million contract extension.

The Chargers' practice on Thursday changed his mood after outside linebacker Tuli Tuipulotu blocked him during a team drill. Slater collapsed on the ground in agonizing pain. Upon inspection by team medical personnel, Slater ruptured the patellar tendon in his left knee, immediately ending his 2025 season.

The loss of one of the premier left tackles in all of football certainly will hinder Los Angeles' chances of making a return trip to the postseason this year.

The unfortunate reality is that we see these sorts of storylines unfold every season, with key players on teams across the league missing the season due to an injury that occurs during practice.

It’s unbelievable to think how something going awry when attempting to prepare for success can be the very thing that prevents players from achieving their goals.

As followers of Jesus, we all share common goals and desires that we strive for. All of us, for instance, desire to grow in our understanding of the Bible, to become increasingly more like Christ, and to produce much fruit that brings God glory.

If we aren't careful, however, we can easily miss out on accomplishing those goals because of things that take place during our "preparation."

The Bible makes it very clear that godliness is not something that happens by accident. It is an endeavor that takes much effort and intentionality.

1 Timothy 4:7 (NIV) says, "Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly."

God has given us means by which we can increase in our godliness. Activities such as prayer, Bible reading, and listening to sound Christian teaching help us become increasingly conformed to the image of Christ. They provide us with the fuel and preparation we need to rightly respond in every situation.

But even though we know all of these things, we can still make tactical errors during the "preparation process," which hinders our ability to see the results we desire.

Reading our Bible, praying, and listening to sermons are great for our spiritual health, but they won't help us as much as we'd like if the process doesn't fully engage us.

How many times have we been distracted with our minds wandering, or have been alarmingly apathetic while participating in an activity that should help encourage our spiritual growth?

The Bible addresses the concept of individuals who engage in the right activities yet fail to reap the full benefits due to an improper attitude or approach.

Hebrews 5:11 (NASB) says, "Concerning him we have much to say, and it is difficult to explain, since you have become poor listeners."

The main point in this verse is that people were no longer actively engaged in listening to Christian teachings. Although they heard the teachers' words, their lack of engagement prevented their hearts and minds from grasping an understanding.

Jesus said something similar in Luke 8:18 (NLT): "So pay attention to how you hear. To those who listen to My teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what they think they understand will be taken away from them."

Jesus didn’t simply tell people to listen to His teaching, but instead instructed them to pay attention to how they were hearing it.

We can apply this principle to other spiritual disciplines. It doesn't do us much good to pray if our minds are distracted and we aren't fully engaging in talking with God.

Likewise, reading the pages in our Bible won't be of much benefit if we don't engage our minds and don't remember what we read.

Ultimately, we will all face times when we’re distracted and not as engaged as we’d like to be. The question becomes, how will we respond when those scenarios arise?

We are either training ourselves for godliness, or we are training ourselves to go in the opposite direction. When we find ourselves distracted during our spiritual disciplines, we have a choice: either to refocus and engage with the activity or to give up and check out.

The good news is that when we choose to refocus and engage in the activity, we are training ourselves to respond to distractions in a manner that honors God.

Of course, the opposite is also true. When we fail to fight against distractions or apathy, we make it that much easier to succumb to the same temptations in the future.

Today, as we reflect on Slater losing out due to what happened while he was preparing for his season, let's not lose out because of our preparation going awry. Instead, let's be intentional and focused.

Slater’s injury was primarily out of his control, but for us, let's do what we can to aggressively fight against the distractions that seek to lead us astray so that our training leads to becoming more like Christ for His glory.

I'm Matt Osborne, and you can UNPACK that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for providing me with the means to become more godly. Please help me to overcome distractions and apathy as I engage in spiritual disciplines, so that I may increasingly become more like Christ. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen.