C.J. on Belichick

C.J. Mahaney writes well here in response to last night's game and Belichick's response:

I stayed up after the game for one reason. I knew they would interview Belichick, and I wanted to hear what he would say. I hoped he would at least congratulate the Giants on their victory. He did not. He missed yet another opportunity to provide a compelling and humble example of how to conduct oneself when one has lost the game.

Though many will write about what took place on the field during the game, I thought his actions at the end of the game and after the game were the most disappointing aspects of the game. And this is the stuff I review and emphasize with my son as we talk about the game. This is what I want him to remember and learn from this game.

But I must pay careful attention to my heart as I critique coach Belichick, because I am vulnerable to my own more serious expression of arrogance as I observe Bill Belichick. In critiquing coach Belichick and teaching my son biblical discernment and the importance of godly character, I must avoid a self-righteous attitude.

Bill Belichick is not the worst sinner I know. I am the worst sinner I know. For am I most familiar with the countless sins I have committed against God, the countless times I have responded in a similar way as Mr. Belichick when I have encountered the test of adversity. Though it doesn’t appear Bill Belichick is a humble man, I know I am not a humble man.

I am proud man who is pursuing humility only by the grace of God. And it is only by the grace of God that I have been saved from the wrath of God against my sins. It is only by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, on the cross, as my substitute for my sins, that I am forgiven of my many sins and have hope for the weakening of pride in my life. And therefore the appropriate response to what I observed in Mr. Belichick last night is to pray that he will become aware of his need for a Savior and turn from his sins and trust the Savior.

So today after examining my heart for any trace of self-righteousness, any hint of moral superiority in my soul, I have prayed that God would use these circumstances to obtain the attention of Bill Belichick. I pray that God would strategically provide individuals to care for this man at this time and share the gospel with him. And I pray that God would have mercy on him and grant him the gift of repentance so this most disappointing experience would become for him a means of encountering the most amazing experience, the grace of God in the gospel of Christ and him crucified.

Read the whole thing.