Our school had their homecoming court and games the other week. They did an Instagram theme with hashtag statements and pictures all over the gym. Balloons, class representatives all dressed up and family snapping pictures were all part of the scene. Tons of fun. But the fun quickly turned into stress, frustration and down right anger as we started playing another basket ball team who played dirty and somehow got away with a lot of it.
One player in particular – “number 12” – was making a lasting impression. Let me paint the picture: Foul mouthed, jersey throwing, injury faker, crowd badgering, pompous athlete who needed a butt whooping to put it nicely. Poor sportsmanship doesn’t even come close to describing this fellow. We are a Christian school and we were so proud of our varsity boys team because they handled the ridiculous behavior and confusing referee calls incredibly well and with a Christ-like attitude. From what I could tell from the stands they never tried to retaliate or trash talk the other team. They kept composure and played their best. We were so proud of them. I was thrilled to watch our team win by one point!
So our basket ball team did great. Some of the adults in the stands on the other hand? ………not so much. The ones yelling at the refs …..and at #12. I can understand how easy it was to do that because I was thinking the very thing they were yelling. What they yelled out was true – bad calls and too much tolerance for poor sportsmanship. But does that give us a right to express our anger from the stands? Does that show Jesus to anyone? Not really.
Sports along with other hot topics has the potential to bring out true colors. Sort of like when someone talks about your kids…..oh you just gotta know Mama bear is going to come out to play. The claws come out. But is it really right to dismiss it saying, “That’s just a Mom thing. Or it’s just part of the sport’s culture.” Excusing our un Christ- like attitudes it’s exactly what Satan wants from us. Because if we’re convinced we’re justified in what we’re doing or saying why would we ever change?
I am not excused from this type of pitfall. I’m currently battling an area in my life that God is opening my eyes to. I used to think it was one of those no big deal things. But God is currently showing me that it’s sin, therefore it’s a deal. As followers of Christ, when we address these areas and bring them under the full control of the Spirit of God, we will show Him off in such a way that others want to know what the difference is.
There will always be #12’s in this world. Occasionally we’ll work with #12’s. I say occasionally because a work place will only put up with that kind of behavior for so long before their little tale is fired. Your kids go to school with #12’s. They are your neighbors and scary as it is some #12’s are your family members. Saying a prayer for you right now.
So here’s my thought. What if the next time we encounter a #12 instead of going off on him or her we actually showed the love of Christ. Hard.to.do. Because what they deserve is a big ole spanking. But when we start to remember that we’ve all got some #12 in us and we too deserve a big ole spanking then it changes our perspective. Jesus gave us love and mercy when we deserved differently. And it’s what he calls us to do with others. It’s not easy. But it’s the difference in walking a Spirit filled life and a flesh centered life.
Hehehe, so true! But you might should have used an anonymous #! 🙂
Maybe so, I just assumed since I didn’t state the team and school name he pretty much remained anonymous….except for those of us at the game who were well aware of his number. Ha!
Oh #12.
Sports brings out the ugly sometimes (and sometimes it’s always there sports just allows for a larger audience.
When my daughter was 10 and played on a bball team, I was astounded at the behavior of parents who would jump, curse, challenge the ref, demand to see the rule book, and act like overall crazy people. I was both horrified. It was like bad reality TV playing out right in front of me.
Ps Awesome title. I hope you put this on FB.
just yesterday i sat near a man who just returned from a mission trip (not my husband) who began yelling at the tournament organizers, “let’s START!” for heaven’s sake….and i heard fans fussing at the high school students manning the doors who had the job of politely asking spectators to keep food and drink out of the gym. it’s sad how mean humans can be to one another…..may Christ continually open my eyes to my sin that i might lift people up instead of tear them down.