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Men of Integrity, Jan/Feb 2001
A Linebacker's Tough Choice
This Week's Theme: Building Solid Marriages
Monday, January 15
Key Bible Verse: … who keeps his oath even when it hurts … He who does these things will never be shaken. Psalm 15:4b, 5b).
Bonus Reading: 1 Kings 2:1-4
When Chris Spielman played for the Buffalo Bills, he was everything a middle linebacker should be: tough, strong and smart, with passion, total commitment and loyalty to the game. He played the entire 1995 season with a torn pectoral muscle that he sustained in the season opener.
But the game took a distant second place in this thinking during the 1998 season. He chose to stay home. He cooked, took care of his kids, and cared for his wife—by choice. Stephanie, Chris's wife, was struggling through the stark reality of breast cancer. Surgery, chemotherapy and nausea were Stephanie's opponents. During her fight Chris was at her side; his actions supported his "family before job" credo.
Asked by a reporter from the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle if he'd consider a return to the Bills late in the season, Spielman said, "I'd play in a heartbeat, but what kind of man would I be if I backed out on my word to her? I wouldn't be a man at all."
Football fans saw Spielman as a man because of his aggressive, leave-it-all-on-the-field style of play. But what really makes him a man? It's his personal sacrifice and unending commitment and loyalty to his wife.
—Rob Bentz in Sports Spectrum
Respond:
How are you helping out at home? Ask God to give you a love for your wife that includes a willingness to sacrifice.
Thought to Apply:
A successful marriage demands a divorce—a divorce from your own self-love.
—Paul Frost (writer)
Adapted from Sports Spectrum (3/99).
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Prayer for the Week |
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Jesus, you are the great healer and restorer. Bind my family together. If I have suffered because of divorce, I ask you to heal our family from its pain and destruction. Please renew our hope.
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