Tuesday, February 10, 2015

February 11, 2015

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." Proverbs 9:10

The world of college basketball in particular and the world in general suffered a significant loss with the death of Coach Dean Smith.

At the time of his retirement in 1997 he had won more games that any other NCAA Division I basketball coach. The number of wins was impressive but what set him apart was how he built a winning tradition while developing scores of young men into outstanding basketball players and, more importantly, successful men beyond basketball.

Dean Smith built the North Carolina Tar Heels into a national dynasty through his system he dubbed the "Carolina Way". 

The "Carolina Way" wasn't a successful because it changed the rules of basketball or the size of the court or the height of the rim but because he was able to motivate his players to execute within the rules of the game more effectively than other coaches. Not only did he respect the rules of the game and taught his players to, as well, but he was also able to convince the best young basketball players in the country to join his team. Furthermore, Coach Smith understood and respected the fundamental of the game and taught them to his players better than most other college coaches. He innovated within the rules better than just about every other coach of his time.

So, the "Carolina Way" embraced and taught by Hall of Fame Coach Dean Smith was so successful because it submitted to the rules of basketball, the fundamentals of basketball and the strategies of the game and he was able to convince talented players to come to Chapel Hill and submit to his system. He is respected by those within the game because of the way he respected the game!

That is essentially what Solomon says about wisdom. Wisdom begins when you stop believing you are the smartest guy in the room and submit to God's wisdom, God's will and God's way. 

Wisdom begins where your dependence on your own knowledge ends.