Last Sunday I watched the Green Packers play against the Cincinnati Bengals. It was a thrilling game! What made the contest so compelling was the fact that in the last 2:14 minutes of the game, both teams missed 5 field goals!

In most football games (especially on the professional level), no one expects a kicker to miss a field goal. Most of us assume that the field goal is automatic. A field goal isn’t exactly the most exciting part of the game. Nor does kicking field goals seem as though it requires a unique or specialized set of skills. Let’s face it: kicking field goals just isn’t that sexy. I bet that most people (except the NFL diehards) can’t even name one kicker who has ever played. (I’m sitting here thinking about it, and I can’t). But last Sunday’s game between Green Bay and Cincinnati reminded me that while kicking field goals may not be that sexy, they are super important—and often determine the difference between winning and losing.

Evan McPherson (the kicker for the Cincinnati Bengals) had an opportunity to win the game. With only seconds to go in regulation and a Bengals victory in reach, McPherson attempted a 57 yard field goal. Shortly after the kick, he started celebrating. He pumped his fists. He leaped into the arms of one of his teammates. His teammates smacked his helmets. He must have assumed that the kick was good. The only problem was…it wasn’t. (You can watch a replay of the kick here). He actually missed! And his team lost. It was both funny and tragic watching someone celebrate who had actually missed. I was soooooooo embarrassed for him!

Some of us don’t know how to celebrate when we win. But some of us like celebrating before we’ve won. I’m not sure which is worse. But neither are desirable. The danger with premature celebration is that it is wasted energy—energy that could have been invested in preparing for a better outcome. It’s dangerous to set up monuments to ourselves when we haven’t even completed the mission!

This is the mistake that Saul made. The scriptures tell us that Samuel instructed Saul to go carry out an assignment against a nation called the Amakelites. His assignment was to destroy the city, and everything in it. However, Saul did not complete the mission. He only fulfilled part of his assignment. But when Samuel arrived to inspect the results, Saul was celebrating as if h.e had won Their encounter is described in 1 Samuel 15:12-19

Early the next morning Samuel went to find Saul. Someone told him, “Saul went to the town of Carmel to set up a monument to himself; then he went on to Gilgal.” When Samuel finally found him, Saul greeted him cheerfully. “May the Lord bless you,” he said. “I have carried out the Lord’s command!” “Then what is all the bleating of sheep and goats and the lowing of cattle I hear?” Samuel demanded. “It’s true that the army spared the best of the sheep, goats, and cattle,” Saul admitted. “But they are going to sacrifice them to the Lord your God. We have destroyed everything else.”Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! Listen to what the Lord told me last night!” “What did he tell you?” Saul asked. And Samuel told him, “Although you may think little of yourself, are you not the leader of the tribes of Israel? The Lord has anointed you king of Israel. And the Lord sent you on a mission and told you, ‘Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, until they are all dead. Why haven’t you obeyed the Lord.

Saul was celebrating a partial victory, based on partial obedience. Unfortunately, the celebrating was premature because the mission was not finished. Significantly, it was Saul.s failure to complete this assignment that cost him the Kingdom. This single act sealed his fate. Saul was celebrating. But he missed the goal!

What are you celebrating in your life? And are you sure that what you are celebrating is worth celebrating? I remember Chris Rock saying that he once heard a man bragging “I buy my all babies diapers.” Upon hearing that bit of braggadocio, Rock replied, that ain’t noting to be bragging about. You’re supposed to buy your babies diapers! Since when did doing what you are supposed to do merit an award?

Let’s make sure we reach our goals (and that our goals are worth reaching) before we pay ourselves on the back.