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Key Bible Verse: We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us (2 Corinthians 6:12). Bonus Reading: 2 Corinthians 6:11-13; 7:2-4

In the NFL, as elsewhere, people from similar backgrounds hang out together. And that's OK. But Frank Reich, a white quarterback for the Carolina Panthers, and Bill Books, an African-American wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills, try hard to incorporate racial reconciliation into their everyday lives. They've found the benefits worth the risk—just like completing a pass on fourth and long.

Three years ago when both were playing for Buffalo, Bill was signed on as a free agent and had to work closely with Frank because of their positions on the team. "Right from the start, we clicked," says Bill.

According to Frank and Bill, reconciliation starts by letting people know that you want to get to know them. "If there were a group of blacks sitting together and a group of whites sitting together," Frank says, "90 percent of the time, I'd go sit at the table of blacks."

"At first it was awkward," says Bills special-teams standout Steve Tasker. "But now it's more commonplace because of the example Frank and Bill set."

—Narnia Singh in Worldwide Challenge

• Have you ever visited a church composed primarily of people of another race? Plan a visit in the near future.

Thought to Apply: If God created people of different ethnic backgrounds, He did it for a reason. If we downgrade people of other races, we're downgrading God.

—BILL BROOKS (Buffalo Bills wide receiver)

Credits: Adapted from— Friday: Worldwide Challenge (1-2/96)

Copyright © 2000 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity. For reprint information click here.

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