KneEmail - a devotional by Mike Benson associated with Forthright Magazine
Discipline
WHEN THE LEGENDARY Bear Bryant coached the University of Alabama's football team, he had a strict rule against drinking...
He also had a star quarterback named Joe Namath. There came a time when Namath admitted that he and some friends had been out drinking. Everyone, including the fans and the alumni, believed Namath was indispensable to the team. There were two games left in the season, against Miami and Mississippi. There was no question that Bryant knew their chances of winning either game without Namath was slim.
However, Bryant told Namath that he had broken the rules and was out for the season, and maybe forever. Bryant received over six thousand letters of protest, but he held firm. Alabama managed to win both games by narrow margins. Namath returned the next year and led Alabama to the National Championship. Years later, he agreed that Bear Bryant was absolutely right to suspend him and to make the suspension stick. You can bet the other Alabama players followed the rules not only for that season, but for future seasons as well (Don Martin).
THOUGHT: It is difficult to discipline our children when they break the rules we've set for them, isn't it? But what will be the results if we fail to do so?
KneEmail: "Discipline you son in his early years while there is hope. If you don't, you will ruin his life" (Prov. 19:18; cf. 22:15; 29:15).