In life’s busyness have you stopped long enough to ask yourself “what is the most important thing I am doing to influence those around me?”  Are your actions those of encouragement to others or do you “teach” others what not to do with their lives?

Recently we have been bombarded by people’s lack of character. Their mistakes are all over the news, their innermost secrets. Who they really are is made public for all to see.   This headline jumped out at me:

Character tops draft boards
 in first round

NEW YORK – “NFL teams seemed to take a strong hint just a day after Ben Roethlisberger was suspended without committing a crime. If there was a theme to the first round of the NFL draft Thursday night, it was that character was put on equal if not higher footing than talent.” (Jason Cole)

I like how The Free Dictionary defines character: “moral force; integrity- a man of character.”  Integrity means “adherence to moral principles; honesty.”

"Teachers and coaches are constantly looking for tools to teach character," Brian Shulman- Learning Through Sports Founder and CEO

Some people get a bit nervous when you start mentioning morality in relation to sports.  “What place does morality have in athletics?” some ask.  “I don’t want my kid being taught right and wrong by a coach.”  For me here is the bottom line.  If, as a parent, I teach my child what honesty and integrity is, and live them out in front of my children, the truth that is lived out by a coach or teacher will be another confirmation or example of what is right.  If falsehood is the example taught by a coach or teacher, because my child heard and saw the truth at an early age, they will know right from wrong. 

Today, many student-athletes are struggling to decipher right from wrong because there is no one in the home to teach them the basic principles of character and virtue.  Ask a coach, who goes beyond the duty of coaching the fundamentals of a particular sport and mentors and guides these athletes to become “men and women” of character, why they do it and they will tell you it is because there is a need.   I like what Dallas Cowboy and Hall of Famer Rayfield Wright said recently.

“While growing up in rural Georgia, I had many mentors in my young life. Without their guidance and leadership, there is no way I would have had the character or faith to play for the Dallas Cowboys, let alone be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It’s like my grandmother Big Mama use to say, ‘Son, it takes people.’ “

This month the Greater Dallas Fellowship of Christian Athletes is launching the Character and Leadership Initiative to walk alongside coaches and student-athletes to provide curriculum and workshops to better prepare them to be men and women of character.  If you would like to know more, contact us at 214-739-8003 or  www.fcadallas.org.