Get in the Zone: Let’s Work

I have a confession to make. I admit it. I’m guilty. Yes, I’m a sportsaholic, and my need for pro football can be insatiable. As it’s now in the off-season, I still watch reruns of games and will comment as if it’s being played in real-time. Yes, it can get that bad.

Second only to my love of pro football is my affinity for pro basketball. While I admit my viewership isn’t as frequent as it is for contests on the gridiron, I’m always up for on-the-court battles.

My native city of New Orleans was once home to the New Orleans Jazz, which featured star player, “Pistol” Pete Maravich. The Jazz organization eventually relocated to Utah in 1979 because of financial hardship. The Big Easy was without an NBA franchise until 2002 when it acquired the Charlotte Hornets, eventually renamed the New Orleans Pelicans.

During that interim period, I followed the Detroit Pistons — the “Bad Boys” of the league: Isaiah “Zeke” Thomas, Joe Dumars, Vinnie Johnson, Mark Aguirre, John Salley, James Edwards, Adrian Dantley, Rick Mahorn, Bill Laimbeer, and who could forget Dennis Rodman, the Worm. And then there were the Chicago Bulls, particularly the squad’s legendary shooting guard, Michael Jordan. I admired Jordan for his selflessness and his mental acuity for knowing when he had to take a game over. One of the times was during the 1992 NBA Finals against the Portland Trailblazers.

In the first half of game one at Chicago Stadium, he shot six three-point baskets, as the Bulls mounted a comeback from an opening quarter deficit. While going back on defense after his sixth three-pointer — then an NBA record — Jordan looks at the team of television announcers along the sidelines and shrugs his shoulders. One commentator blurted out, “He feels it! There’s nothing else you can say other than the man feels it and lets us know!”

We would say MJ was “in the zone”. The phrase is defined as being in a state that produces achievement with such an extraordinary, often unlikely, degree of success that it seems to defy purely rational explanation. Like Mike (yes, pun intended), there’s a specific realm where we excel with relative ease. It’s a gift that God chooses to bestow with the expectation that we use it to its full potential.

The Apostle Paul writes in Romans‬ ‭12:6-8‬, “In His grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.”

The list of talents here is a small sample of the vast range of abilities God empowers us with. For me, my niches are writing, singing, and making music. On the musical front, I asked myself how I would want — as a Christian man — to see women treated in music. So, I recorded a song and released it to the public. It’s called “Who I Am”. It speaks of honesty with women in relationships. The track is available now to hear (click here), and I want to create more.

The prayers to God for forgiveness I often hear from spiritual leaders and laypeople about society at large’s conduct are misdirected. I believe we must seek redemption for abdicating our heavenly mandated responsibility and placing it on others.

Media companies — such as Walt Disney — aren’t responsible for producing suitable content. It’s our job to write, produce, and direct spiritual, moral, and character-driven material. I applaud filmmakers like Dallas Jenkins who directs the stellar limited series “The Chosen”, which is garnering worldwide acclaim.

Then, there are other up-and-coming movie visionaries:

Keenan Robinson, writer and director of the “Nothing Without God” franchise. The two entries center on the trials of a college student and his struggle to maintain balance while going from home to home to find safety from an abusive family.

Cindy Bond, the producer of the adaptation of Francine Rivers’s novel, “Redeeming Love”, a modern take on the book of Hosea.

Alex and Stephen Kendricks, overseers of notable projects “Overcomer”, “Courageous”, “War Room”, “Show Me The Father”, and “Fireproof”.

Not only in media, we mistakenly charge politicians with the task of providing a moral compass. For instance, the President or the Supreme Court shouldn’t bear the weight of eliminating abortions. Instead, God holds us accountable to tell everyone of the love and forgiveness He has for them — the Gospel — and let His Spirit change their thinking to adopt His design for life, love, marriage, and sexuality. We mustn’t be content with behavior modification, but rather heart transformation. God’s grace can accomplish far more than the revocation of the statute birthed from the infamous “Rowe vs. Wade” decision of 1973.

The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 8:3, “The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent His own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body, God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving His Son as a sacrifice for our sins.”

In addition to offering spiritual support to thwart the heartbreaking consideration of terminating life in the womb, I champion organizations like Nightlight Christian Adoptions, who in 1997 launched a one-of-kind embryo adoption program, Snowflakes. It offers families the wonderful opportunity to give birth to their adopted child.

God commissioned us as ambassadors of Christ to take the lead. Jesus says in Luke 19:13, “Engage in business until I come” or in the spirit of this post, “get in the zone and get to work.” Coupled with the Lord’s direct call to action, this Spanish language song by singer, Blanca, is added motivation for me:

       Estoy en mi zone (I’m in my zone)
       Óyeme cantar (Hear me sing)
       Zone, no voy a parar (Zone, I’m not gonna stop)
       En el cielo se oye (Heaven hears)
       Lo que en la tierra se canta (What’s sung on earth)

It’s time to sing a new tune. Our days of complaining about this world’s different value system must come to an end, and our time to make a world of difference and create value within the system must begin.

Our God has more than enough, and He’s blessed us with the right stuff. We’re clear to hone our skills and flow in our zone. We’ve got the gifts. Let’s get on the playing field and put them to use for “such a time as this.”

Sources:

All Biblical references are taken from the New Living Translation except were noted

Article: “Utah Jazz and 5 Teams Who Need More Geographically Correct Names” by Denim Millard

Article: “Charlotte Hornets History”

Article: “New Orleans Pelicans History”

Roster: “1988-89 Detroit Pistons Roster and Stats”

Video: “Michael Jordan 1992 NBA Finals Against Portland”

Data: “1992 NBA Finals Statistics”

Definition: “In The Zone”

Scripture: Romans 12:6-8

Song: “Who I Am” by Derek Ian

Series: “The Chosen”