Overcome evil with good

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:21

I’m not saying the mean things that guys do to you on the field are evil — but they may be dirty and even mean.  You need to make a choice.  If  you are going to do things God’s way, you have to figure out how to overcome these things while doing something good.

But, this is what often happens.  Say that you are playing soccer, just minding your own business.  You get a ball pushed through for you to run into space.  As you start to make a play on it, the defender grabs your arm or your jersey.  The ref doesn’t call it, so you grab his arm or push him away from the ball.  Here comes a whistle.

The ref often sees the second foul.  If you are going to overcome evil with evil — foul first.

If you are going to overcome evil with good, you have to have decided a few things before you ever got on the field.  First, you need to have decided that you aren’t going to react when something is done to you that you think is wrong.  Second you need to know what to expect — don’t be surprised when the defender does something to you.  Third you need to have some plans of what to do in the situation

Try this.  The first time take a step away from him and keep going past.  If he was going after you instead of the ball, you will be out of reach and blow past him.  Another time instead of pushing the ball ahead, stop and cut back.  If he is going after you on this play, it will look very obvious and you have a good chance of getting the call.  Above all go hard.  Remember that the ref can give you the advantage rule — if the guy fouled you, but it is to your advantage to keep playing, the ref has the option to let the play keep going.  He may even say, play on.  It is nice for the other guy to get called for a foul whenever he commits one.  But you aren’t trying for nice, you are trying to score a goal.

And don’t get down because the guy gets away with a foul from time to time.  Sometimes the ref doesn’t realize right away what the guy is doing.  But if you keep playing through it and playing hard, he is likely to start catching that foul as the game goes on.

You have heard it said that nice guys finish last — well that is often true.

I’m not talking about being a nice guy, I’m talking about being an overcomer.  And although overcomes don’t always win, they always play in a way that gives them a chance to win.