SUCCESS DEFINED

SUCCESS DEFINED

Phil Jackson is best known as the legendary coach of the Chicago Bulls during the heydays of the iconic basketball superstar, Michael Jordan.  Nevertheless, in his book entitled “Sacred Hoops,” Jackson reveals fascinating facts about his lifelong journey of spiritual discovery.

In the 1970’s, before turning his hand to coaching, Phil Jackson played professional basketball for the New York Knicks.  During his stint at the Knicks, they won the NBA championship, achieving a dream he had been striving for since childhood.

A short time later, Jackson went out for a night of celebration with family and friends in New York.  The upscale restaurant was crowded with famous people like Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman.  However, instead of feeling the sense of jubilation he had anticipated, Jackson wrote the following about his feelings: “The intense feeling of connection with my teammates that I had previously experienced in Los Angeles seemed like a distant memory for me.  Instead of being overwhelmed with joy, I felt terribly empty and confused.  I kept saying to myself., ‘Was this it?’  Is this what was supposed to bring me happiness?  Clearly the answer lay somewhere else.”

Later in life, Jackson understood.  He wrote, “What I was missing was spiritual direction.”

Success in life can never be defined by temporal accomplishments, no matter how substantial they might seem.  Perhaps the clearest expression of this truth is embodied in “The Confessions of Saint Augustine,” an of the early church father who had a life-or-death struggle with pride and carnality before submitting to the Lordship of Christ.  Augustine’s famous prayer of repentance says it all.  “Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee.”

Indeed, there is a God-sized hole in the human heart that can only be filled by a spiritual restoration and sustained relationship with our Creator.  Our broken hearts, minds and spirits find healing and completion (not in wealth, romance, privilege, position, or power) but only in The One who forms and fulfills us.

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING.  Maranatha!