A Forgiveness Challenge

I'm very grateful to my friend Lane Widick for agreeing to share this article that he recently shared on his personal blog.

By now, you’ve probably heard of Mo’Ne Davis and her stunning rise to stardom as the pitcher for a little league team in the world series. She even made the cover of Sports Illustrated!

Recently, a young man who played baseball for Bloomsburg University, made a statement on Twitter that is too vulgar to repeat on a Christian blog, but needless to say, you would be picking your jaw of the floor after reading what he stated.

The university promptly kicked Joey Casselberry, the player in question, off the team.

Mo’Ne had every right to be upset.  What was said about her shouldn’t be said about anyone, much less a teenager.

But do you know what she did?  She wrote a letter to the university, and it says this:

Dear Dr. Soltz (the President of the university),

I am writing about the Tweet sent out by your baseball player, Joey Casselberry, and his dismissal from the team because of it. While I admit I was pretty hurt when I read his comments, I felt sad that he was dismissed from the team. As many people know, my dream is to play college basketball and maybe even professionally. I know how much hard work and dedication it will take to get there, and to have that dream taken away would be heartbreaking. I am sure Joey Casselberry has worked very hard to get where he is and dreams of playing in the major leagues. For this reason, I’m asking you to please allow him back on the team so that he can continue to chase his dream. He made one dumb mistake. I’m sure he would go back and change it if he could. We all make mistakes and deserve to be forgiven. I hope you will give him a second chance and allow him to play.

Thanks.

Mo’Ne Davis

You know what, I’ve made dumb mistakes before.  We all have done things that we shouldn’t have done.  I find it refreshing to see someone who not only forgave the offender, but came to the defense of the defender.  What a lesson to learn from a 13 year old girl.

A lot of us may say we forgive someone, but we want their heads for what they did to us.  Forgiveness accompanied with actions such as that is not real forgiveness.  What if Jesus said “Father, please forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing,” but then followed that with “But in 3 days when I rise from the dead, I’m going to make sure each person that mocked me, beat me, spit on me, or drove a nail in my hands – is dealt with in a swift and proper way.”

We say things like “Well, in the business world, if this happened…” – but you know what?  I don’t think Jesus meant “Forgive others, but then treat them like the business world would treat them.”

Maybe we all need to learn a lesson from Mo’Ne.  If someone says they're sorry, no matter how vile or tame their words may be – we forgive, and truly forgive, and move on.  No need to be like the Queen of Hearts with a “Off with their heads” mentality.

Conversation Changes Everything

I don't like athletes who try to gain a competitive advantage by using drugs. When I'm feeling grumpy I say "Kick them out of the game and never let them back in." I hold a grudge against baseball's all time home run leader, Barry Bonds, and think his record should be removed from the books. I view Alex Rodriguez as a cheat and wouldn't cry if his career was now over. I don't feel sorry for Lance Armstrong, although I respect the work his charity does.

In the recent Australian scandal where AFL team Essendon was accused of systematically giving their players illegal performance enhancing substances, I would not have thought any penalty was too harsh. Ultimately, the evidence didn't quite support the allegations, but it was still pretty rotten.

I don't like PED's because they unfairly skew the field of competition (as if natural selection doesn't already skew it enough!). They often have nasty side effects. The nasty side effects not only impact the star performers, but the desperate younger athletes who try to imitate the stars as they try to make their own way in the sport. Often the drugs used are simply illegal.

BUT then MY baseball team signs a confessed drug cheat. Jhonny Peralta was suspended 50 games in 2013 for using PED's. I laughed in his face (not literally). And now the Cardinals have signed him! For the good of the team, I'll have to cheer for him each time he comes up to bat.

Peralta didn't even attend the press conference to announce his signing. At that press conference the Cardinals GM had to defend the signing of a drug cheat. All he could say is that if MLB only suspends the player for 50 games, why shouldn't the team sign him once the 50 games are up. The club shouldn't be expected to impose its own ban beyond that the league imposes.

Of course, the Cardinals have already been through all this with Mark McGuire. But here's the point. "Getting to know people makes all the difference." One of the first steps toward hating someone is to dehumanize them. Forget they have a family and feelings. Label them drug cheat/black/gay/some other sin, then call down fire from heaven upon them. It's much easier if you've never shared a coffee with them.

Here's a couple of articles from other spheres of life that make a similiar point:

• When a black man sits down with KKK members remarkable things happen. HERE
• This article makes the point that society's view of homosexuality is rapidly changing because "It's difficult to believe that gay people are bad when you know one."

Isn't this kind of what happened in John 8:1-11 when the woman caught in adultery was brought to Jesus. Of course adultery is still a sin. But suddenly this wasn't an abstract question about adultery. This was a specific circumstance about a very real woman who was right there in their presence. Expecting to be stoned she was probably crying and wailing and begging for mercy. No this wasn't hypothetical any more. In this context the evil of the religious leaders in exploiting this woman (and not her lover) as a tool to trip up Jesus changed the emphasis of the moment.


So before you go on facebook, or vent to your friends about "those people" (whoever they are) make the effort to get to know one, or some, of them. You don't have to agree, but God does call us to love them. Unless they're an extremely unpleasant person, it's usually much easier to love someone once you know them.

Overcome Bullying with Good

As soon as you saw the word "Bullying" in the title you knew I was going to talk about the mess at the Miami Dolphins where Jonathan Martin has walked out on the team and accused Richie Incognito of bullying.

I really don't want to go into the details of this situation because its so messy I'm not sure that anyone really knows what went on. There've been many articles written on various facets of of this ugly mess:

• Racism - A Jason Whitlock article HERE and a Shannon Sharpe rant HERE.
• Violence - A report from NFL.com HERE.
• Immorality - "Compulsory" meetings at strip clubs HERE.
• A Destructive Locker Room Culture - Bringing in good influences. HERE
• Defining Masculinity - a good summary article HERE.

The point I want to focus on today is the widespread response to Martin's bullying claim that instead of walking out on the team, he should have "stood up" to Incognito and bunched him in the mouth. According to this article even the Dolphins General Manager, Jeff Ireland, thought Martin's best course of action was to punch Incognito!

Have you ever heard the advice that goes something like, "Bullies are really cowards. Stand up to them and they'll back down." So if Martin responds to abuse with violence that will stop the violence? I just finished writing a blog post on a separate issue here that included the thought, "Sin never heals itself". Likewise violence isn't solved by more or greater violence.

I'm not saying that walking out on the team was the right solution. Maybe there were other avenues of redress available. I do not that violent retaliation was definitely not the best solution, or even a solution at all.

I wonder if a Christian would handle this situation differently? God certainly gives us a few ideas to chew on in circumstances like this:

• Do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. (Matt. 5:39)
• I tell you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. (Matt. 5:44-45a)
• Do not repay anyone evil for evil. (Rom. 12:17a)
• Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Rom 12:21)

I wish I had "5 Easy Steps" for putting these teachings into practice. But this Martin - Incognito story demonstrates how difficult and complicated these situations are. There are so many times where it's incredibly difficult to decide the best specific path forward. Sometimes it means walking away from a situation and risking being misunderstood and called a coward. Sometimes it means reporting events to an authority and risking being called a snitch, and possibly losing some friends. Sometimes it means praying for evil people. Sometimes it means serving people we don't like.

Out of all the verses in Matt 5 and Romans 12 that relate to this issue, Romans 12:21 that most resonates with me. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 

Do you believe God, really, deep down in your heart, that good is able to overcome evil? 

The Redemption of Tiger Woods

I'm a little late to the party, but certainly not shy about jumping on a bandwagon!

When Tiger Woods won the Arnold Palmer Invitational at the end of March, he reclaimed the #1 world golf ranking from Rory McIlroy. Woods last held the #1 ranking in October 2010 and fell as low as 58 in the world in November 2011. But in the last year Tiger has won a whopping six tournaments including three so far in 2013.

Tiger's form on the golf course has been awesome. But Nike found a way to bring controversy to Tiger's success. Shortly after he achieved his most recent victory Nike rolled out the following advertisement.

To be fair, it's important to first understand the back story. According to this article, "Winning takes care of everything." is something Tiger has used "at least since 2009 - whenever reporters ask him about his or other golfers' rankings." So basically, he's only referring to his ranking and his golf reputation. It's not possible to fault him on that front. Winning is certainly how you get to be the number one golfer in the world.

However, Nike is surely guilty of a double entendre with this ad. I imagine that only a small portion of the public recognises the original context of this quote. The vast majority of people seeing this advertisement will focus on the word "everything".

I suspect that close to 100% of sports fans know the reason for Tiger's fall from the top ranking in 2010. In 2009 Tiger's marriage dissolved after his serial affairs became public. Tiger took a break from golf as he dealt with these personal issues. This even included checking into a clinic to address a sex addiction.

After this dramatic fall from grace it has taken 3+ years for Tiger to climb back to the top of the golf heap. While anyone can admire his focus, discipline, talent and determination on the golf course, it's not easy to admire him as a person. The selfishness of his actions destroyed his marriage and irrevocably changed his relationship with his children. His immorality was not victimless.

So when Nike takes a statement made within a specific context and promotes it to the world, "Winning takes care of EVERYTHING" the superlative instantly brings to mind EVERYTHING, not just golf.

Of course, winning doesn't take care of everything. It doesn't restore trust in a marriage. It doesn't make Tiger more present in the life of his children. It doesn't make him more admirable as a person. Most importantly, from a Christian perspective, winning doesn't remove the sin from his life. Being the greatest golfer in the world at any given moment does not count at all toward gaining redemption in God's eyes.

The only "holes in one" that have eternal consequences are the holes hammered into Christ's flesh. My sin, your sin, and Tiger's sin were placed on Jesus.  Colossians 1:13-14 expresses it this way,

"For he [God] has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

Our redemption can only come from accepting God's forgiveness through Christ. Our best efforts in golf or life will never result in full redemption. Tiger may reclaim the ranking, the headlines and even respect from some people, but none of it will be true redemption without Jesus.

Although most Christians will verbally acknowledge our dependence upon Jesus, many of us still seek redemption through our own efforts. Perhaps it's working on turning our lives around. Maybe we try to patch past relationships. Sometimes we think that if we pile enough guilt on ourselves God will respond to our remorse. Yet all of these involve something other than depending upon God's grace.

More Reading:
Here's another preacher's blog on the topic, that presents a slightly different perspective.
Here's another reflection by a sports writer that focuses on Nike's role. [some strong language]

To Save a Life

Not a long post today. I just want to point my readers to a friend's post about MLB umpire Jim Joyce. Jonathan discusses the two times this guy's made ESPN headlines in the past couple of years. Read his post HERE.

In 2010 Joyce botched a call that robbed Detroit pitcher Armando Galarraga of a historic perfect game. 

HERE's a longer ESPN interview and story written 6 months later. It's a fascinating read. I am particularly amazed at the messages the baggage handlers in Detroit wrote on his luggage tags!!

You can watch the call and hear Joyce's apology in the post match interviews. Joyce's honesty and willingness to answer this many questions is amazing!! (NOTE: the language is a little salty in spots.)

In 2012 Joyce turned up to umpire a game and ended up performing CPR and saving a woman's life. Read the details HERE.  There's no question which is the more significant action!