First, it inspires passion in its fans who get crazy excited about it. Oh, that we would have that kind of passion for our Lord Jesus! Psalm 32:11 says, “Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!”
It exemplifies physical and mental excellence as the athletes go above and beyond what seems impossible with never-say-die attitudes and trained bodies. 1 Corinthians 9:24 says, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.”
It shows the importance of both offense and defense. Ephesians 6:13-18 describes the armor of God and tells us to put it on! Like in basketball, our spiritual defense needs to be just as strong as our offense, and this means not underestimating the opposing team.
It teaches us to know our opposing team. What is your opposing team? Our natural thought may be to say, “Satan” and that is often true, of course, however, we can be our own worst enemies. We can be taken down by our own envy, selfishness, or pride.
It is a situation of either win or go home! While it starts with 68 teams, as teams are eliminated, it whittles down to the sweet sixteen, then the elite eight, then the final four and the final championship game that determines it all. And so, it is with our spiritual life. We cannot be saved and unsaved. We cannot be on our way to eternal life and on our way to hell at the same time. We determine how our final championship game ends by our acceptance or rejection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus.
It doesn’t matter how great a school is, its popularity, or ranking. If a school is one of the 68, it can win it all. To be used by God, we don’t need to be the most talented, smartest, or athletic. Acts 4:13 tells us, “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” Acts 10:34-35 says, “Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.” God gives all of us an equal chance to accept Jesus Christ as our savior and receive eternal life.
The students are sold out for basketball and their team. Similarly, we should be sold out for Jesus giving our all for His purpose. Matthew 22:37 tells us, “Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’”
It teaches how to persevere. We can learn lessons from the March Madness tournament about how to keep going and not faint. One day Jesus told his disciples a story about a persistent widow to show that they should always pray and never give up. He said in Luke 18:1 “that men always ought to pray and not lose heart . . .” We are going to face challenges in work, relationships, health, and more, but don’t give up – fight on. In order to win in our spiritual lives, we must fight until the final buzzer just as the basketball players do.
There are remarkable instances in March Madness history in which teams that were down by seemingly insurmountable odds at halftime or losing with less than a minute to go rallied and won the game. Why? Because they did not lose heart. When we are in a disheartening struggle, victory can seem impossible, but the Bible tells us that ALL things are possible to them that believe and that the things that are impossible with men are possible with God. March Madness is full of underdog stories that remind us that anything is possible.
The NCAA players study their playbooks. Our playbook is the word of God. It provides answers, direction, and vision. Psalm 119:105 tells us, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
Finally, the players talk with their coach. Our coach is our heavenly Father and we talk with Him through prayer! Prayer is like the time spent going to the bench talking things over so that we can recover and reassess the situation. Through prayer, we can ask God for His help and wise counsel