It’s great to have cheerleaders, but they are very easily replaceable. It’s not hard to cheer someone no matter what, it doesn’t take much wisdom or skill to say well done no matter what job is done.
It’s a good coach that makes teams win. It’s someone who can look you in the eye and say “that play won’t get you through”, “you need to change that”, “this must be different for you to hit the target”, that is the person who will lead you to victory.
The tragedy is we live in a world where everyone wants constant affirmation, and wants every thing said about them to be positive.
Some people have even recast Jesus as a cheerleader – now He is encouraging, He is positive, He is inspiring, and a good coach is all those things. But read Revelation 2 and 3, Jesus is not afraid to talk straight to New Covenant believers when they are getting it wrong. You can’t rebuke Jesus, or call Him a legalist when He says “remember how far you have fallen”, “you hold the wrong doctrine”, “you need to repent and quickly or your church will be closed”, “your works are not perfect”, “you are lukewarm”. No, that is just great coaching, strong, clear advice to help you win the game. To help you improve!
If you cannot receive correction, it doesn’t matter how many cheerleaders you have, you will fail. Selah.
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