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DEDICATION

Controversial basketball coach, Bobby Knight, of the Texas Tech Red Raider men’s team has announced that he will not accept his quarter million dollar salary. Following his team’s 74-68 loss to Baylor, the coach told the school to keep his salary. Knight said he did not feel he had done a good job and neither had the team. In a news conference the Monday after the game Knight said, “I just feel like I had a product, and it broke. You shouldn’t have to pay for it.”

The Red Raiders finished the season with a record of 16-11. They were 10-1 before they began play in the Big 12. The team faltered in the second half of the season going 6-10 against league opponents, including a 2-8 record in games decided by nine or fewer points. Reflecting on the season, Knight said, “You heard me talk after games all season long about missed opportunities and how we didn’t see things. These are things that have got to be taught. Learning those things is just as much a responsibility of the teacher as the ones learning those things.”

Texas Tech athletic director Gerald Myers said the school does not know what will be done with the money. He says he tried to talk the coach out of the decision but says Knight was set in his decision. Myers added, “He’s too hard on himself. He’s done a great job these last two years, all the things he’s done for this program, this university. There’s no question that he earns his salary and more every day.”

This season’s disappointment came after the team finished 23-9 last year and reached the NCAA tournament. Before Coach Knight arrived, Texas Tech hadn’t had a winning season in four years. For Knight, this could be his first season without 20 wins since 1995, when Indiana had a record of 19-12.

—http://www.cbs.news.com/stories, Coach Knight turns Down Paycheck, March 11, 2003.

Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

While Bobby Knight has not always been a sterling example to follow, he gives us an idea of what dedication is.

1 Corinthians 9:25-27 NIV “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. There I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”

DEDICATION

It is easy for me to take exception with the details of Mother Theresa's religion—frankly, there isn't much about the Catholic faith that I agree with, but I can't fault her dedication and the outcome of her life. It was a life well spent—it was a life devoted to something bigger than herself. She shunned comfort and personal advancement for the sake of her calling.

Daniel Metzdorf is doing the same thing. No, he isn't a nun ministering to the poorest of the poor, but he is a man who is devoted to a cause. Sergeant Metzdorf lost a leg to a roadside bomb in Iraq in January, 2004. Under most circumstances he would have received a medical discharge from the Army and transitioned into the civilian world. But 19 operations later, facing many hours of rehabilitation, Metzdorf applied for reinstatement. Repeatedly, he was denied, until his unit commander intervened on his behalf. The Army assigned him to a desk at Fort Bragg, NC, but Metzdorf isn't satisfied riding a desk. Recently, he traded in his high-tech prosthesis for an older hydraulic model that would be better suited for the battlefield. He wants to go back into the theatre of operation to fight the war on terror. "I'm still an asset. I just want to give back as much as I got," he said.

—Newsweek, March 14, 2005, p. 39-41. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson

Acts 21:13 (HCSB) Then Paul replied, 'What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.'

DEDICATION

You belong to the gym. You faithfully pay your monthly dues and make your almost daily trips to work out. You expect impressive results. Now you learn that is not enough. In addition to your trip to the gym, you need to stop in at your fitness studio where you pay upwards of $150 per month to help your body recover faster from the gym workout. With infrared saunas, laser muscle treatments, and pulsed Electronic magnetic Field therapy, your body will recover so much faster, you will feel better, and our immune system will get the support it needs to keep you healthy.

If we could only be as faithful and dedicated to our spiritual well-being. Physical specimens like Tom Brady and Tony Robbins work hard to stay physically fit. Men and women who are spiritual giants work hard to grow and exhibit spiritual well-being.

How much effort do you put into becoming a spiritual person? —Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.

The Wall Street Journal, August 11-12, 2018, p. D9

1 Timothy 4:8 (CSB)

For the training of the body has limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

DEDICATION

Ross Edgley’s long swim in the sea set a record for the longest in history. He swam completely around Great Britain’s 1,791-mile coastline. Edgley swam up to 12 hours a day, eating and sleeping on a support boat. He endured 37 jellyfish stings, a suspected torn shoulder, an open neck wound caused by his wet suit chafing, and a rotting tongue. 157 days after he began his swim, he stepped ashore at the coastal town of Margate and reunited with his family.

The Week, November 23, 2018 p. 4

That is dedication. They could put it in the dictionary to replace the definition. My first question to myself when I read about it was, “why?” But what I really want to know is what am I that dedicated about? I hope my dedication to the Lord is as enduring, I do know it is much more meaningful. —Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.