By Brad Locke
June 25, 2004

(AgapePress) - While sad to see my Lakers lose to the Pistons in the NBA Finals, I was at the same time encouraged to see reaffirmed the importance of cohesiveness in winning. Detroit embodied the basic principles of teamwork: humility, unselfishness, sacrifice, patience and an understanding of roles, to name a few.

L.A., of course, was just the opposite. Not surprisingly, the more "biblical" team won. I know, sounds silly on the surface, but it's no surprise that the values that led to a championship are the kind that Christians should hold dear and follow.

Take humility, which is really where the path to true success always begins. Philippians 2:3 instructs us thusly: "Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves." That means (listen up, Kobe and Shaq), in basketball terms, to set aside personal rivalries within the team and take the focus completely off yourself. Kobe too often pouted about the strict confines of the triangle offense, claiming it limited his creativity (I guess this makes him an "enlightened" relativist). Shaq didn't think he got the ball enough. The Pistons, conversely, bought completely into Larry Brown's system because egos were banished from the locker room.

Humility leads naturally to unselfishness, a prerequisite for making personal sacrifice (listen up, Gary Payton). No bickering about who played how many minutes, no ball-hogging, no silly head games with the coach. Detroit has lots of players who could, if they wished, become perennial all-stars at the expense of the team. Ben Wallace is a PG version of Dennis Rodman. Chauncey Billups was once a No. 3 draft pick. Rip Hamilton is a former college hero with an Allen Iverson-like grit but an un-Iverson-like wisdom.

But all of these men had something the Lakers lacked -- vision. That vision helped them see beyond themselves and beyond the moment. It required patience to see the plan through. It also helped each player understand and accept his respective role on the team. Nobody tried to unreasonably extend his capabilities. It all made for a beautifully efficient piece of athletic art.

As I have said, all these values are biblically based, and the Pistons can provide us a pretty good example of how to live as Christians.

Humility helps us become selfless servants of each other. II Corinthians 4:5 says we are to be "servants for Jesus' sake." We need sacrificial patience to accomplish that.

A cohesive church is a wonderful thing to behold, and even more wonderful to be a part of. I daresay my own church is like that. For example, since baby No. 4 has arrived, we've been showered with gifts and support and encouragement (and food). Our church is built on the foundation of Christ, which creates an atmosphere of graciousness and an underlying attitude of generosity. Making that graciousness all the more effective is the fact that every member knows, or is trying to uncover, his or her respective spiritual gifts.

Such cohesiveness makes each of us stronger spiritually and allows us to have a more entrenched and sturdier presence in the world. It yields greater success and greater happiness. After we have endured "under trial," we can hold high the "crown of life" (James 1:12), or the "trophy of life," if you will.

Watching Detroit so thoroughly dominate and defeat the Lakers reminded me of how thoroughly God has defeated sin, and how He can use us in that glorious cause if we faithfully and joyfully follow the principles of teamwork He has laid out before us.

Never thought I'd say this, but ... Go Pistons.