Be Defensive and  Don’t Let the Offense Score

by Tammy Phillips
September 4, 2023

He said to his disciples, “Offenses will certainly come, but woe to the one through whom they come!” [Luke 17:1 CSB]

I am a graduate of the University of Georgia, and I was raised on Georgia Bulldog football.  I started going to games when I was around five.  One could say, I have been a Dawg for life.  It is a good time to be a Dawg with back-to-back National Championships!  Last year, Georgia’s defense bulldozed though the TCU offense of  Heisman runner-up, Quarterback Max Duggan and 1000 yard gainers, running back, Kendre Miller and wide receiver, Quentin Johnston.  The defense shut down TCU’s offense, allowing Georgia’s explosive offense to stay on the field and accrue a 65-7 win for the championship. 

I really love the game of football.  The offense’s objective is to score and win.  The defense’s objective is to keep the offense from scoring by crossing the goal line. 

In life, do we let the offense run you over  us or do we have our best defense waiting completely dedicated to defending the goal line?

How do we stop the offenses of life?

1. When an offensive pass is thrown, we step in front of the receiver and intercept the pass, stopping the attack in its tracks.  The pass is meant to gain yardage in our life and upset the defense. When we say, “No.”  We are not going to take the insult.  We stop the enemy.

2. When offense just keeps aggressively running at us, time after time, we must take our stand, exercise self-control, and defend our goal in order to keep our love, joy, and peace. In our playbook of life, the Bible, we read in John 10:10, that the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy. We must take our defensive stance to keep the thief from stealing any points from us.
3. Jesus came to be our Savior, Helper, and Life giver. “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have [it] more abundantly.” [John 10:10]. He was the Coach who came before us, played the game of life perfectly, and never let the enemy win. He took the offenses, so we do not have to.

   In His darkest hour, his best friends would not stay awake and pray with Him.  Peter denied and betrayed Him three times. He was spit in the face, mocked, shamed, humiliated, punched, scourged, and  falsely accused. He stood, said nothing, and did not take offense. He was stripped, whipped, beaten, and mocked repeatedly.  He stood and said nothing.  He was crucified and nailed to the cross for every offense and wrong throughout eternity.  How did He respond to the wrongs ?  “Father forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).  Jesus exemplified the best defense ever, perfect love.  He could have wiped out the offenders with one word and poof they would have been gone. We could choose to sting with our words, but then we become the offender, too.

4. Our best defense to keep the offense from scoring is to “walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). The Greek word for “walk” in this verse is peripateō which means to go through, over or tread all around; to trample; to crush with the feet; to advance by setting foot upon foot;  to successfully encounter the greatest perils from the machinations and persecutions with which Satan would fain thwart the preaching of the gospel; to treat with insult and contempt; to hit; strike or sting.

   The best way to hit back, defend the goal line of life and defeat the offensive plans of the enemy is to walk by faith in Jesus footsteps, not by what we see nor hear. (I hope y’all know I am preaching to the choir, me.)

I enCOURAGE you with these last thoughts.  In football the defense makes mistakes and the offense scores. How do they respond?  They shake it off and prepare for the next offensive drive. They practice, practice, practice so that they are prepared when the offense charges at them.  Followers of Christ are no more perfect than a defensive line.  When we don’t rightly handle an insult, we have to shake it off and practice, practice, practice to become the best defenders. Say, NO!” Take our stand and walk it out by faith.

VIVA MAGENTA:  Live. Breathe.  Be defensive.

“You are my King and my God. You command victories…
⁵ Only by your power can we push back our enemies; only in your name can we trample our foes. … ⁷ You are the one who gives us victory over our enemies.” [Psa 44:4-5, 7 NLT]