Lessons of UFC

By: Payton M. Ishmael

With a sour attitude and dreadful mood, I ended up watching some silly fight with a group of friends recently. Some burly men clad in UFC sponsored spandex squirm around trying to kill each other. Going into this situation, I admit I thought the whole UFC trend was a complete joke. After watching, however, I came away from the experience with valuable lessons learned.

Preparation. Expectation. Commitment.

If you’ve ever competed in any type of organized game or sport, you know that success requires adequate preparation. Depending on what’s at stake, athletes prepare months, years, or even lifetimes to reach the ultimate goal of victory.

Expectation is also crucial to winning. You must know what you’re facing, be familiar with your surroundings, and know the rules of the game. The element of expectation can be a tricky one. Although it’s important to approach competition well informed, you must also be prepared for unexpected events to occur. A good person once told me not to worry so much about planning every intricate detail of my life, and instead let life happen.

We can’t forget one of the most important ingredients of success; commitment. A decision has to be made to persevere through all obstacles and challenges and there can be no room left for backing out. Prior to beginning a race, it’s not a question of IF you’ll finish, but when. Commitment means sticking with it, staying in, and not letting go.

Our eternal plans are much the same as preparation for the UFC match; not always easy but well rewarded. We have to prepare; seek salvation, love one another, and love God. We have to expect what’s in store; Heaven vs. Hell. We’re going to conclude our lives in one destination or the other, which do you expect? And, we have to commit to the course; Live out loud leaving out any option to give up.

He never said it would be easy, but He did promise we’d never go alone!