a Greater Glory

The world we live in is interesting to say the very least.  I remember my father always telling me that a man is only as good as his word.  In other words if you say you are going to do something, make sure you do it.  Jesus believed this same idea as seen in Matthew 5:33-37:

Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

It seems that this idea of letting your “Yes” be “Yes”, and your “No”, “No” has been forgotten in professional sports, specifically the NBA.  Just yesterday there were reports of LeBron James telling free-agent Trevor Ariza  that he would be staying in Cleveland past this year.  Today, there have been reports that this is not necessarily true.  If LeBron said he was going to stay he needs to step up and say, “Yes that is what I said”.  Unfortunately that will never happen.  If LeBron James stepped up right now and said “Listen, I am planning on testing free agency next year, but Cleveland is my first choice” would anyone have a problem with that? It could possibly affect some of the free-agent signings they make this year, but there is always a possibility that something could happen where LeBron never plays again.

There are numerous examples in the NBA where yes no longer means yes. Joe Dumars could not give Avery Johnson a straight yes on whether he would retain him past one year (see “When coaching isn’t enough” for more on Dumars), so Avery pulled his name from consideration for the Detroit Pistons job.  All Dumars needed to do was be straight with Avery and say, “You know I will probably be looking for another coach in a years time, you are more of a stop gap for this year, until 2010.  We are going to try and make a run at LeBron James and I want to bring in a coach that fits LeBron’s style”.  Hedo Turkoglu went back on his acceptance of the Portland Trailblazer’s offer and decided instead to sign with the Toronto Raptors.  Carlos Boozer did a similar thing to Cleveland in 2004.  Clay Bennett the owner of what is now the Oklahoma City Thunder originally had said he wanted to keep the Seattle Sonics in Seattle, when he was really just lying to keep people off of his back.  The examples could go on and on in the NBA.

Obviously not everyone will follow the idea of letting your “Yes” mean “Yes” and your “No” mean “No”, but how different would the NBA, professional sports, and the world look if people followed the simple idea of keeping to your word, even if it means having to do something that is unpopular or not what you personally might want to do. What do you think?

Former Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Steve McNair was found shot dead late Saturday night.  McNair who was only 36 was found dead alongside a woman whom is being called a “friend” of McNair’s, Sashel Kazemi. McNair who was a three time pro-bowler may be best known for his drive of the Tennessee Titans against the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV in the last minute of the game where the Titans came up one yard short of sending the game into overtime.  During times like this many people will speculate about the life that McNair led and will remember the great things that he did on the field.

However, as Christians it is important that we take opportunities such as this to proclaim the truth of Jesus Christ.  In a world as lost as this, it is essential that The Good News is shared with those in search of it. In times of hardship and trouble Christians can lean on Psalm 18:2-6:

The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me; the cords of Sheol entangled me;the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.

The truth of the Gospel is that Jesus paid for our sins with his life.  Nothing we can ever do in this world will ever be enough to repay the debt that we owe.  As details will continue to emerge McNair and Kazemi will be cast into different spotlights.  No matter what the outcome of the investigation, it is important for Christians to remember that our life here on earth is short, it is only in God we can find our refuge and no matter what things come our way we can call upon the Lord and He will hear us.

What if church were treated like an NBA game?  How would it look, how would it sound?  Well, it might sound and look something like this.  Enjoy!

Sports commentators love to make bold assertions like, “He is the greatest to ever play the game” or “Nobody is more dominant than him.”  When I hear these bold proclamations, I often laugh and then I kind of shiver.  The shivering isn’t because I am cold, instead it’s because that is a scary thought.  The greatest there ever was, really?  One of the first things that I learned about sport was that there is always somebody who wants to knock you off of the top and they are working extremely hard to do that.

If we had a time machine and I could go back to 1972 and watch and listen to the sports commentators talk about Jack Nicklaus, I could sit there and chuckle to myself.  I am sure at that point in time they would have been calling him the greatest golfer to have lived (and up to that point, they could possibly be right).  The reason I could chuckle?  I know this guy who will be coming up in the near future and will take the golf world by storm, you know, that Tiger guy.

These same claims are starting up again as Roger Federer goes for his 15th championship.  This is a record in tennis and is a feat that should be loudly applauded, but does this mean that he gets the title of “The greatest tennis player to ever live”?  In the sports world there will always be somebody who is going to be the next big thing.  it’s crazy to say, but in 15-20 years we could be sitting and looking back at Roger and Tiger and be remarking how they were good, but so-and-so and so-and-so are leagues ahead of them.

The coolest part about all of this, is that within Christianity the idea of the greatest, is completely backwards to that of the sports world.  Listen to what Jesus said in Matthew 18:1-4:

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus never wanted the person who was the best, the person who was the most popular, or the person who pumped their fist and banged their chest.  Jesus took the cast-outs, the neglected, and the people who humbled themselves like children. What if the commentators based their “Greatest Player” ideas on the players who not only played well, but were outstanding people?  It’s likely we would be praising a bunch of guys who for the most part we have never heard of.  Sure you hear of the more prominent ones (i.e. Mariano Rivera, Kurt Warner, etc.), but what about the guys who lived their faith and evangelized in their leagues like there was no tomorrow, then we could call them “The Greatest”

A couple days ago, Sean posed the question, “Is our love of sport as humans a result of us wanting to find joy or satisfaction in a fallen and imperfect world?”  Needless to say, I didn’t have a response to answer such an intense question.  Honestly, I was ready for a question about Ochocinco’s new facial tattoos or whether the WNBA will cease to exist in 5 years.  However, after some thought, I feel that this is one of the quintessential topics for athletes – especially for this generation, in this country.

Happiness (definition): a state of well-being and contentment.

The goal of humans, when you break it down, is quite simple and blunt.  All individuals who ever lived have tried to seek out happiness in one way or another.  Whether it be religion, family, food, drugs, or money – we’ve tried to gain the almost unattainable.  We are programmed in such a way that we deeply long for an experience that is beyond our mental capacity.  This is no different with sports.

I can testify to the joy that comes with playing a sport – namely baseball, which I played through college.  Through my first two years of college ball, you could have mistaken my E.R.A. for the weight of a new born.  Things were turning ugly and I wasn’t receiving much joy from a sport that I had always loved.  Through hard work and discipline, I was able to regain some dignity my final two years.  The point here is, happiness was fleeting.  Although I became very attached to the game, it could never satisfy my deepest desires.

Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemed Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, delves deeper into this subject in his book The Reason for God:  Belief in the Age of Skepticism.  Keller states the following in one section titled “The Personal Consequences of Sin”:

“Identity apart from God is inherently unstable.  Without God, our sense of worth may seem solid on the surface, but it never is – it can desert you in a moment…If anything threatens your identity you will not just be anxious but paralyzed with fear.  If you lose your identity through the failings of someone else you will not just be resentful, but locked into bitterness.  If you lose it through your own failings, you will hate or despise yourself as a failure as long as you live.  Only if your identity is built on God and his love can you have a self that can venture anything, face anything.”

Keller is right on point.  We were made in the image of our Creator.  Aside from Him, nothing will ever completely satisfy our need for happiness.  Not even our deep love of sports.  We were made for something far greater.  Jesus tells us in John 15:11 that by His love our “joy is made complete.”  Anything aside from that is pure exhibition.

Michael Vick, fresh off his two-year stint in federal prison, was recently put on a construction crew in Virginia.  Once the NFL’s highest paid player, Vick is now making $10 per hour working in the hot sun.  This has got to be a humbling experience for the former Falcon.  Some will put the question out there, “Should he really have served that long of a sentence for what he did?”  While this question is alright to entertain, it’s not going to matter.  It is what it is.

For his own sake, I hope things turn around.  Although when asked to liquidate his assets in order to pay unsecured creditors, Vick was reluctant to give up one of his two homes and other luxuries.  One verse comes to mind when I read things like this:

“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”  James 4:10

I can say from experience that the Lord humbles the proud, that he breaks us down in hopes that we search Him out.  My prayer for Vick, if he does not know Christ, is that he will recognize the fact that there is hope.  No, it’s not in football, money, or fame – but in Christ alone.

Follow this link to see the full article:  Vick to work at Boys & Girls Club

I can’t honestly say I know Plaxico Burress and what his heart is like.  What I can say is that God’s word is very clear on “reaping what you sow”.  Galatians 6:7-8 says this,

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

Plaxico Burress is currently embroiled in all kinds of legal issues.  These legal issues stem from an evening where Burress was carrying a concealed weapon (without a permit) and shot himself in the leg.  While it sounds almost humorous Burress and then teammate Antonio Pierce tried to cover up the shooting.

That has led us to where we currently are.  Burress has been indefinitely suspended by the NFL and is “reaping what he sowed” in the earthly sense.  There is a chance that Burress may have to go to jail and/or be on probation.  Commissioner Roger Goodell is waiting to see what legal actions are taken before handing out a punishment.  With all of that being said Burress could possibly be back in the NFL this season with a couple of teams.  The punishment or the reaping what you sow, seem almost insignificant at best.

However, the idea of reaping what you sow is not necessarily an idea for gaining pleasures on this earth. Yes, Burress may be able to continue his profession on earth and play professional football.  The key is that God does not forget.  We must all remember we will be called before God to stand for the lives we have lived.  No matter whether you are a Christian or not you will be called before the throne of God and asked to give a testimony of your life.  Hopefully, this situation has brought Burress to his knees and asked for the forgiveness and salvation of Jesus Christ.  Only then will he truly be forgiven.  This story though is an interesting reminder that even though many athletes, actors/actresses, musicians, and politicians may “get away with things” on earth, this will not always be the case.  Let us remember what ROmans 8:6 says and set our minds on the Spirit and not on on our flesh.

Congratulations to Mariano Rivera on his 500th save.  Mariano from all accounts is a committed Christian who is playing in the biggest baseball market in the world. For him to achieve this is monumental and amazing, congratulations to Mariano.