There is an old proverb, filled with fresh wisdom and practical application for today. You’ve heard it many times before. It goes like this: “Pride goes before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18).”
I know the truth of that proverb, and so I was not prideful or even overconfident before I met my friend Chris for a tennis match Tuesday. We played in the hot sun from 10:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m., and when the match was over he had beaten me (yes, beaten me) in all three sets we played (6-2, 7-5, 6-0). It was a frustrating loss.
But it leads me to another truism, my own: “Pride may go before a fall, but so does lack of preparation, inferior skill and the absence of hard work.”
Oh, I worked hard during the match. I fought for every single point. But I had no chance because I had not hit a tennis ball in about a year, and I don’t lift weights and exercise faithfully, and I drink too much Dr. Pepper. Chris, on the other hand, plays in a tennis league each Fall, Winter and Spring. He works out and jogs religiously, and he hates losing as much as I do.
And so I was beaten.
Author Jim Collins, who has studied greatness and written about it, says, in a now famous quote, “Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness is largely a matter of conscious choice and discipline.”
He echoes the counsel of Solomon who observes that “lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper.” (Proverbs 13:4).
Why did I lose the tennis match? Largely because I hadn’t made the choices necessary in the days, weeks and months prior to the match that would result in a win on the day of the match.
Read about Tom Brady or Peyton Manning. Why are they among the greatest quarterbacks to ever play football? Mostly it’s not because they are taller, faster, or physically stronger than other quarterbacks. Mostly it’s because they out-work other quarterbacks. They are more careful to guard their lifestyles—diet, sleep patterns, work-outs, words and actions in public—than other QBs. They spend more time on the practice field, arriving earlier and staying later. They devote a ridiculous number of hours to studying game film. And they intentionally nurture strong relationships with key members of their offense.
Read about the greatest musicians and music groups of the last one-hundred years. Read about the most successful business leaders of our day. Talk to great parents. Study the habits of most “A” students. Largely each of these groups live at the upper tier of their craft because they out-work, out-hustle, out-study, and out-practice others.
So what do you want to do well? Win a tennis match against a friend? Gain greater job security or even get a promotion at work? Achieve better grades at school? Develop a stronger relationship with a friend or spouse? Be a wiser parent? Meet a financial savings goal? Get in optimal physical shape? Learn a new skill? Grow your relationship with God?
If so, those things are not likely to happen by sheer luck. You will have to work hard, be disciplined and find someone that will bring you encouragement and accountability along the way.
Too many people make excuses for why they didn’t achieve some goal in life. (Now I'll admit sometimes those “excuses” aren’t just excuses. They are valid reasons. But more often, the reason probably lies in the simple truth articulated by Solomon thousands of years ago: “lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper.”) The truth is you can do more than you think you can, with the help of friends, family, and with a great God whose wisdom and power is available to each of us on a daily, hourly, minute-by-minute basis.
Today I remind you what I was reminded of so rudely on a hot, summer morning, tennis racket in hand: “Pride may go before a fall, but so does lack of preparation, inferior skill and the absence of hard work.”
