Michael Jordan and Chicago Bulls

Dude Skill #8: SUBMIT – Part 2

#41 IN MY SERIES OF POSTINGS DEDICATED TO SUMMARIZING A WONDERFUL BOOK ENTITLED “THE DUDE’S GUIDE TO MARRIAGE: TEN SKILLS EVERY HUSBAND MUST DEVELOP TO LOVE HIS WIFE WELL” BY DARRIN & AMIE PATRICK.

CONTINUED FROM MY POST ON AUGUST 31, 2023

Pride lurks in the heart of every human. But when this pride is given room to flex, it robs you of joy unless you’re stepping over everyone around you. You tolerate people as long as they bolster youe self-esteem. As long as you get to be in the driver’s seat, everything is good. A husband like this has such a fragile ego that he demands service. A husband like this is riddled with insecurities. He doesn’t know how to let another person have the spotlight.

This brings me to another, more contemporary philosopher: Phil Jackson, the Zen master himself. My two favorite NBA basketball teams of all time are the Bulls and the Lakers I don’t really follow either team now because I turned into a fair-weather fan for both. But my fanaticism was based on the personalities on the teams, not the logos on the jerseys. I liked Jordan and Pippen for the Bulls and Shaq and Kobe for the Lakers. The Bulls won six championships, and the Lakers won three. Many credit the success to Phil Jackson’s coaching of both teams. Jackson may go down as the greatest coach of all time. He is to be credit for sure for the success, but listen to his thoughts on the subject:

The real reason the Bulls won six NBA championships in nine years is that we plugged into the power of oneness instead of the power of one man. Sure we had Michael Jordan, and you have to credit his talent. .. It doesn’t matter how good individual players are — they can’t compete with a team is awake and aware and trusts each other. People don’t understand that. Most of the time, everybody’s so concerned about not being disrespected… But when we lose our fear of that, and look to each other, then vulnerability turns into strength, and we can take responsibility for our place in the larger context of the team and embrace a vision in which the group imperative takes precedence over personal glory.

Phil Jackson, Hall of Fame NBA coach

It could be argued that the reason for the success of these teams was submission. It is pretty clear that a lack of submission between Kobe and Shaq short-circuited the Lakers’ championship run.

Submitting to other people is hard. Submitting to your spouse is even harder. One of the most painful verses in the Bible, which is located in a discussion about marriage, in Ephesians 5:21: “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” It is one thing to know that you are to submit; it is quite another thing to know how and when to submit. In my next article, I’ll share what Coach Phil Jackson had to say about its benefits.

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