The Awkward Pause

The Seattle Seahawks are Super Bowl champions, and their head coach, Mike Macdonald, is a big reason why.

He’s known as innovative and cerebral, and he just became the first head coach to win the Super Bowl while serving as the team’s primary defensive play caller.

Becoming the third-youngest head coach to win the Super Bowl, Macdonald did so in only his second season. During the Lombardi trophy presentation, he reflected by saying, “I believe God called me to be a coach and I listened to Him, and I thank Him.”

It appears Macdonald has the necessary skills to be an elite coach for the long term, and it’s clear he is doing what God designed him to do. Among the many leadership qualities that have earned him the respect of players and assistant coaches is his consistent ability to pause before responding.

In an article from Yahoo Sports, Jori Epstein writes, “Players and coaches know that when they talk to Macdonald, he may not respond immediately. He is not ignoring them. He is calculating his response.”

Defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator Karl Scott told Yahoo Sports, “He usually has the look where he would literally pause, look off, and it's like the most awkward five seconds of your life. It's him getting to where he needs to get to give you the answer that he feels best about. His processor is working up there.”

In the fast-paced world of the NFL, it's awesome that he's willing to pause before responding. Even though we aren't all built like Macdonald, I still believe we can be inspired to embrace a similar approach. 

Proverbs 15:28 (NLT) states, "The heart of the godly thinks carefully before speaking; the mouth of the wicked overflows with evil words.”

As followers of Jesus, we greatly benefit ourselves and others when we pause and pray before responding to people. Instead of reacting hastily without considering the best response, we can be slow to speak, pausing to ask God what we should say and how we should answer.

James 1:19 (NLT) implores us to “Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.”

In our own lives, it’s very easy to feel the need to quickly respond to anyone who asks us a question or makes a comment. However, what if we didn’t respond immediately and actually calculated our response? 

Proverbs 21:23 (AMP) tells us, “He who guards his mouth and his tongue guards himself from troubles.”

Proverbs 29:20 (AMP) says, “Do you see a [conceited] man who speaks quickly [offering his opinions or answering without thinking]? There is more hope for a [thickheaded] fool than for him.”

Proverbs 14:29 (NIV) explains, "Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly.”

Whether we are interacting with co-workers, having conversations about the Bible with nonbelievers, discussing something with our spouse, or offering advice to our kids, let’s not be afraid of “the awkward pause.”

Let’s trust God to help us be wise, thoughtful, effective, and calculated with our communication.

Today, let’s be like Mike Macdonald and choose to be patient by pausing long enough to answer in the way we feel best about.

I’m Bryce Johnson, and you can UNPACK that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, please give me the strength to have self-control as I communicate with others. Help me to pray, think, and consider before responding. Please show me the best way to answer people so that my response is wise, understanding, and beneficial. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.