Just five days after accepting the position, he resigned in disgrace.
In December of 2001, George O’Leary took the position as head
coach of the Fighting Irish Notre Dame football team. Five days later, he
resigned. An investigation revealed that twenty years before he had included
false claims on his resume, which included saying he had lettered in football
when he was not even on the team and that he had a master’s degree which he had
not earned. The lies had not been discovered at any of his previous coaching
jobs, but the high profile accorded the position of a coach at Notre Dame led
to his exposure.
In a statement, O’Leary said, “Due to a selfish and thoughtless
act many years ago, I have personally embarrassed Notre Dame, its alumni, and
fans. With that in mind, I will resign my position as head football coach.”
Although a considerable amount of time passed between O’Leary’s
deception and its discovery, it did come to light with devastating results. He
had seemingly reached the height of his profession, only to wake up and find it
all taken away. Pride can do that.
King Nebuchadnezzar ruled the mighty nation of Babylon—a nation
he thought he had built by his own power and ingenuity. Although a pagan
nation, God controlled who ruled it, and Nebuchadnezzar needed to realize it.
So, God humbled his prideful spirit by temporarily taking the kingdom away from
him.
God doesn’t want us to think less of ourselves than we
should—after all, we are created in His image—but He also doesn’t want our view
of ourselves to be higher than it should. We are His children, but He controls
every breath we take. We can do all things through Christ, but we are nothing
without Him. All our efforts made apart from His guidance—or in disobedience to
His plan—are bound to fail.
God has wonderful plans for His children, and an attitude of
humility will lead us to search out those plans and use our gifts and talents
humbly to carry them out. When we recognize our position in Christ, God will
open doors we could never imagine. We may never attain notoriety, as George
O’Leary did as head coach of a famous football team, but we’ll be famous in
God’s eyes for doing what He created us to do.
Don’t let pride ruin your work for God. Humbly accept the plans He has for you. After all, life is about Him, not you.
Prayer: Father, give us faith to seek and follow Your plans for
our life.
Tweetable: Is your ego larger than it should be?
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