Last week I began a short series on the what I see as
some of the “E”ssentials of true success – victorious living… (things like
Execution of the game plan; Ethics; Effort; and Esprit de Corps…). Here is the
basic intro again to this series:
“I recently had a discussion with my pastor and he
asked me a basic question: “How do you define success or victory in the
Christian life? –or- “What does a mature Christian look like?”
That is a loaded question because there are so many
things talked about in Scripture on what a victorious / mature believer looks
like. Yet many of those things are subjective instead of objective (things that
don’t necessarily show up on life’s scoreboard.) I think that is why often
churches get caught up in the legalism of defining success as “not
participating in the works of the flesh.” That is easier to gauge than things
like the fruit of the Spirit, etc.
In sports we tend to look at won-loss records for a
season or the scoreboard for a game; yet I have never defined success that way
for the teams I coached. (Of course some might say it is because I didn’t often
see the positive side of the scoreboard or the win-loss column…)
In all honesty I can say there were times my teams won
on the scoreboard yet I didn’t feel victorious; and there were times we lost on
the scoreboard but I was beaming with pride! And in all honesty I can say that
there have been times in life where I appeared to be “winning” and didn’t feel
victorious; and times I appeared to be “losing” but felt incredible pride and
contentment in knowing my Lord was pleased…
After all the goal of a minister is to present
believers as complete or mature in their walks… (Colossians 1:28)”
This week: Ethics (Fakes, Flops, Doping, Dives, and a
Fiddler)
The news is constantly full of stories of athletes
getting an edge via questionable means…
I think of the news last season of the NBA cracking down
on defensive players flopping; of the recent NFL news of players faking
injuries in order to slow down the pace of the game; or the regular news of
baseball players and cyclists doping; and even last week hearing about NASCAR radio
chatter showing that drivers had manipulated results on the race track by
intentionally spinning out and others intentionally taking a dive to allow other
drivers to finish higher.
I even read of controversy in the Olympic games – in 388BC
a boxer bribed three other boxers to take a dive; in AD1896 the man that was
declared the winner of the marathon was later discovered to have ridden a large
portion of the race in a fairly new invention called an automobile; often we
hear of the question in the Olympics of athletes doping or even judges giving
questionable marks; yet my favorite of the cheaters has to be Nero. (You know the
Roman emperor that was said to have played his fiddle while Rome burned…)
This guy was truly a work of art. He was known to have
fixed the games so he could be crowned a champion. First he bribed officials to
hold the games 2 years later than scheduled. Then he manipulated results, most
famously the results of the chariot race. In that race Nero fell off his
chariot and didn’t finish the course. Yet he was still crowned champion via a
judges’ decision that if he had stayed on he would have won the race. (This is
starting to sound like NASCAR.)
As an athlete I don’t understand how someone could cheat
and still look at himself in the mirror. I think much of it is because of our
misrepresentation of what success truly is. Because we define it by the
scoreboard it has created a culture of win at all costs. I am a guy that has no
problem telling an opponent that he made a good play – or – even admitting that
someone was better than me on a given day.
First, let me be very succinct in my response to this:
God expects and demands honesty in us. I never believe it is right to fake,
flop, dope, or dive in order to win. I believe that on the court and in life you
should man up and show integrity. I believe when the opponent is bearing down
on you that you should step in and take the charge right in the middle of the
chest (not take the sissy flop.) Be men and women of integrity!
Second, this idea has so permeated the church that we
think victory is just in looking good on the outside; we think victory is in
appearing victorious no matter the reality underneath; with think there is only
victory and God’s blessing/approval if we are on the victor’s podium… It has
led to what I heard a pastor recently refer to as the “I’m Fine Church” – one full
of fakers that want to appear as something they are not. We have a society of
folks that are trained to “play their fiddles” while “Rome is burning.” We are
not honest with one another and therefore cannot truly be accountable to
helping and encouraging one another. Ethics is not just about following the
rules; it is also about admission of guilt, weakness, struggles, failures, etc.;
it is about being real with one another.
Live honestly!
Leviticus 19:35 You shall do no injustice in judgment, in
measurement of length, weight, or volume.
Proverbs 16:11 Honest weights and scales are the Lord’s…
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