Discouragement

There is an amusing story about a college football game which turned out to be a terrible mismatch. One team outweighed the other by thirty pounds per player, was more experienced and better coached. The lighter, weaker team was being terribly beaten, not only on the scoreboard but physically as well. They were bruised and cut and bleeding and several first-stringers had already left the came because of injuries. As they gathered in their huddle late in the final period, the quarterback noticed that they had twelve men on the field, one more than allowed by the rules. That’s all they needed! If the referee discovered the extra man, a penalty would be assessed thereby adding to their already deep humiliation. “Look,” the quarterback said to his teammates,” we’ll try a running play that will take us past the bench. In the confusion, I want one of you to drop out. If we can do this fast enough, the referee may not notice and we…