Love Your Brother!

Related Scripture:

"If your brother does something wrong to you, go to him. Talk alone to him and tell him what he has done. If he listens to you, you have kept your brother as a friend. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two others with you to talk to him. Then two or three people will hear every word and can prove what was said. If he does not listen to them, tell the church. If he does not listen to the church, treat him as one who does not believe in God and as bad as a tax collector." – Matthew 18: 15-17.

Over the course of a season or many seasons of officiating, we grow close to our fellow officials with whom we officiate.  They become like family.  We spend many hours together attending meetings, study groups, traveling to games, eating meals together, and supporting each other during tough times on the field or court.  However, just like family, officials have quarrels and disagreements with each other.  We may not like a fellow official’s personality or the way they go about officiating.  We’re sometimes part of the gossip or slander around a fellow official’s incorrect or missed call, or maybe we disparage another official to improve our own standing in our association.

We are reminded in Matthew’s gospel of the greatest commandment – to love God with all our hearts.  The second greatest commandment is to love our neighbor as ourselves.  Furthermore, Jesus is very clear that we are to go straight to our brother to work out whatever issues may be hindering our relationship with that brother.  We are not to engage in gossip or talk behind someone’s back to benefit ourselves.  As Christians, we are charged with taking the high road in our relationships.  Love, encourage, and support your fellow officials, especially during times when it might be challenging to do so.

Questions to Ponder:

Do you engage in gossip or talk behind the back of your fellow officials?  

What can you do to be more intentional about working out difficult issues you experience with other officials?

Big Mike Gammons (Founder of FCO) - Thomasville, Ga