Miami Heat’s Pat Riley: Honored for Wisdom

“ …He who wins souls is wise.” Proverbs 11:30b (NIV)

Miami Heat President Pat Riley recently won the 2011 NBA Executive of the Year award, sharing the co-recipient honor with Chicago Bulls’ General Manager Gar Forman, for engineering a prolific offseason free-agent signing frenzy that still has the sporting world in a buzz.  Focused solely with winning NBA Championships, he re-signed superstar Dwyane Wade, and then lured perennial all-stars LeBron James and Chris Bosh to join their team in Miami in an unprecedented fashion.  Riley was honored and awarded for his wisdom and basketball knowledge—assembling an elite competitive team to win basketball games…basketball games.

Garnering much media exposure, you can rarely turn on ESPN without watching the latest unfolding drama occurring with the Miami Heat. The attention given to them traveling from city to city has reached rock-star proportions.  Now it’s right and proper to acknowledge and honor the pursuit of excellence, but when I read this proverb about wisdom, I must step back and admit our priorities are too oft awash. The time is long overdue to honor not winners of games, but rather winners of souls. These are the people we rarely ever hear about.  These are the people who are wise by biblical standards. These are the people who are doing all they can to righteously impact eternity. These are the people who possess wisdom. And these are the people who deserve praise. Oh that I may be considered wise.

Thank God today for the people who are laboring to win souls, who are putting together dream teams—not for sports championships, but who are giving life to others through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

by Jason Stankus

Editorial