USG member Alex Kaiser, Account Manager of Partnership Activation at the Charlotte Hornets, was the first-place winner of the USG's 2024 Fall Reflection Scholarship. Kaiser's submission will be featured below:
A Life Marked By Encouragement
The sports industry is a glamourous and shiny object on the outside, convincing most that it exists that way all the way through. On the inside, though, the few bright places are extremely outpaced by temptation, negativity, and spiritual isolation. This causes many people to become bitter and aimless because of the traps set in the darkness. The ultimate rebuttal to this mindset and environment is to be the ultimate source of encouragement, in the words of Mike Linch, by what we give, what we say, what we do, and how we live. Each of these steps, when considered daily in intentional implementation, have monumental impact over years of repetition that implicitly infect those around you.
The nature of the industry causes us to be continuously in our workspaces, covering many nights and weekends. Even if you have external sources to serve as sources of encouragement, it is hard to carry that on when you go through seasons being partially cut off from many of those sources. It is our call to “encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today,’ so that none of you may be hardened to sin’s deceitfulness” (Hebrews 3:13, NIV). It is imperative that we become these daily sources of encouragement to protect each other from the flashy nature of our industry that turns into sin patterns once it moves past the outer layer. Ultimately, if they will know us by our love for one another, the easiest way to bring Christ into our workspaces is to showcase our love for one another in our encouragement (John 13:35).
The biggest challenge that this message issued me was a sense of urgency to maximize the time that God has me where I am. It was put forth by Pastor Linch that “God never wastes your time; he never wastes your experiences,” and this message brings with it two important motivators. The first of these is reflective. It would be a waste of your current circumstances to spend it dwelling on where you fell short in your last job or the last season, only preventing you from moving forward. There are lessons to be learned in looking back in where the Lord has brought you through, but it must be approached from this mentality. The second, and more pressing motivator, is to take advantage of where God currently has me sitting. Just as the last stop had an expiration date, this current job is not forever, either by promotion or relocation. Therefore, each day is a new opportunity to determine where you can make your biggest impact.
This is further motivated in the following point that Pastor Linch made, in that the Lord “placed me where he’s placed me for a reason bigger than me.” In being motivated to take advantage of my current experience, this point further pushes me to an increased prayer life, as I cannot know why he has placed me here if I do not ask. Hebrews 11:6 reminds us that “anyone who comes to [the Lord] must believe that He exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” I am encouraged by these words of Pastor Linch and Hebrews to decrease the distance between me and Jesus to increase the influence that He can have through me where I am in every stop of my life.
I have a propensity to set lofty goals for myself that cause me to give up on them long before they receive half of the effort needed to get across the finish line. Given this nature, my goal coming out of this message is simple: I am determined to incorporate one intentionally selfless act in each day in the office. I get by in saying that I generally am giving of my time and look out for those around me. But I want to go further than that; I want my day to be inspired by an act of kind encouragement that I seek out from the moment I step into the office. I hope that from there, my day increases in these intentional acts, creating a ripple effect in those around me. That said, the simplest way to be a Barnabas Mountain is to make sure there is one rock of encouragement placed every single day.
Thank you, Alex, for participating in the Fall 2024 USG Reflection Scholarship! We are also thankful to our sponsor, Texon Athletic Towel, for making this scholarship opportunity possible for all thirteen of our winners!
If you have an interest in taking part in USG's Reflection Scholarship program, be sure to subscribe, or follow us on social for updates on the Spring 2025 Reflection Scholarship.