As a boy and even into my teenage years, I was always a huge football fan. I never played the game in an organized manner; I was fast but my slight frame carried all of 115 pounds on my heaviest of days back then. I did however love to watch it and my favorite team was always the Dallas Cowboys. Those were the years of Roger Staubach, Leroy Jordan, Ed ‘Too-Tall’ Jones, and Bob Lilly. The coach was Tom Landry and he represented all that was good in our country at the time. At least he did so to me.
The game has changed and it no longer seems as innocent as it did back then. These are the days of free agency and an almost constant barrage of off-the-field problems for a lot of the players. The athletes have changed and it seems as though very few play the sport simply for the love of the game. I still watch it throughout the season but my viewing is now centered on my lovable losers, the New Orleans Saints. Watching or going to a Saint’s game, and I’m borrowing an unknown quote, is like going to a piano recital that your kid is not performing in.
But there are some players out there that have a resolve to do the right things and it is apparent in not only how they play the game, but how they handle themselves off the field. One of my favorites is Kurt Warner, although I seldom pull for the team he happens to be playing for. He is an obvious victim of free agency as well; moving from one team to another over the last decade. The difference in his case is that he moves from team to team when he is given up on by his current team and it never appears to be about the money involved. He admits as much and in a quote he stated, “I believe in things that are more important to me than money or fame. I’m grounded in what I believe in, and my faith and my morals are all going to stay the same.”
That sounds like an old-school player to me, and I like it. It reminds me of some players that are mentioned in the Bible. Three Hebrew children found themselves captives in Babylon. The Chaldean king made a decree that everyone was going to bow down to his statue at a certain time and the penalty for not doing as commanded was certain death. By the way, this death wasn’t going to be by lethal injection, no sir, it was going to be excruciatingly painful. It was death by being thrown into the middle of a fiery furnace. The time for homage to the statue came, and the boys did not bow and worship as they had been instructed to do. The king gave them another chance, and they still didn’t conform. Meanwhile everyone around them was very busy bowing and praising the statue – the threat of a fiery furnace will have a tendency to do that to people.
But what did the three children (teenagers) do? Their answer is given in the book of Daniel, chapter 3: “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” This is one of the most profound quotes you will find in the entire Bible. No matter what it cost the three boys, and even if God did not choose to miraculously deliver them – they were going to do the right thing regardless. The king was furious, and he pretty much lost his self-control at that point.
In the world today we do enough bowing and playing homage to all of the wrong things around us. We need to be more careful in what or even whom we choose to worship. I have been guilty of this many times in my life, sad to say. Oh to be able to stand and say, ‘Enough! I will not succumb to what the world has to offer me’ and to mean it no matter what the cost entails me.
The boys were thrown into the fire, of course. But God did deliver them. And what is important to note here is that when the king peered into the midst of the fire, he not only saw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; he saw a fourth person that in his own words looked very much like the Son of God. I can’t help but get the message here that when we do take a stand and things seem to be falling apart (or burning down) around us as a result – Jesus is right there beside us, watching over and taking care of us.
I don’t know Kurt Warner personally but I like what I hear. A man that cannot be bought by what the world has to offer is my kind of guy.
Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?
Meet Jim Nicholson. He works as a teller at a bank branch in Seattle, Washington and was on-duty a few weeks ago during a robbery. The suspect entered the bank wearing a beanie-cap and dark glasses while angrily demanding money. He also threatened both Jim and the other workers and patrons of the bank with a supposed concealed weapon, promising to take action if they did not meet his wishes.
Rather than succumb to fear, Jim allowed his instincts to take over. He threw the bag that had been handed to him by the would-be robber onto the floor, leaped over the counter, and demanded to see the weapon. This was not the way the suspect intended things to go evidently, and he turned and fled from the bank on foot. Jim followed, chasing him down the street, finally catching up with him a few blocks away and holding him until the police arrived. When asked why he went beyond the normal call of duty for a bank teller in apprehending the robber, Jim responded, “I thought if I let him go he would rob more banks and cause more problems." At its best, this appears to be a rational explanation and in many people’s eyes (including mine) Jim is a hero.
However, two days later he was fired by his employers for violating a rule that tellers are not supposed to confront would-be robbers. After all, they reason, the money is insured by the FDIC - a department of the government. Jim admitted to being trained to act in that manner by his employer, but he said that in that particular moment his instincts took over and the response came natural to him.
What would I do in a situation like that? Sometimes I wonder. I hope that if circumstances placed me in such a position that I would have the fortitude to act in the same manner as Jim. He did, in my opinion, what is right and honorable. Instead of backing down to criminals, he stood up for both himself and all that is decent and right in the world. Was it a dangerous response? You betcha. But sometimes the right response or a just action will place you in harm’s way.
We are taught today from an early age to go along with what is considered to be ‘politically correct’ and to dare not make waves in our society. The ultimate trust and faith should not be in ourselves or our talents and abilities, but in the government and those that are otherwise in charge of us. We have become in many, many ways almost a custodial society, most of us, depending on others to make our decisions and to tell us what we should do. This is sad.
I may not be totally correct in this manner of thinking, but I have no doubt in my mind that I am very close. I also believe that it is going to get worse as the years go by.
James said in chapter four, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” There have been several times in my life (so far) where I had to make a decision that I knew would affect not only myself, but others as well. In those situations I usually think things through carefully, wanting to benefit others with my choices as I hope they would want to benefit me if they found themselves in the same situation and faced with the same set of choices. I am not always good at this, but I do strive to do my utmost when called upon to do so.
However, there have been several times when I have sat back, unwilling or unable to act during scenarios that required or even demanded that someone take action. I am speaking of secular situations as well as spiritual ones I have been confronted with in my past. To remain stoic when the Holy Spirit has moved you to do something is a sin, as explained by James. We think of sin as something that someone has to commit, but sometimes we can sin by omitting things that we should do.
Sometimes doing the right thing will not be the popular or ‘hip’ thing to do. And sometimes the right thing might place you in a bind or cost you something that you may hold dear to your heart. But as Christians we are called out by God’s Word to do the proper things at all times and this means no matter what the consequences may turn out to be for us in the end.
Wherever you are today, Mr. Nicholson, I wish only the best for you. When you foiled that robbery in my way of thinking, you did the right thing. I appreciate and I also admire you for it.
Rather than succumb to fear, Jim allowed his instincts to take over. He threw the bag that had been handed to him by the would-be robber onto the floor, leaped over the counter, and demanded to see the weapon. This was not the way the suspect intended things to go evidently, and he turned and fled from the bank on foot. Jim followed, chasing him down the street, finally catching up with him a few blocks away and holding him until the police arrived. When asked why he went beyond the normal call of duty for a bank teller in apprehending the robber, Jim responded, “I thought if I let him go he would rob more banks and cause more problems." At its best, this appears to be a rational explanation and in many people’s eyes (including mine) Jim is a hero.
However, two days later he was fired by his employers for violating a rule that tellers are not supposed to confront would-be robbers. After all, they reason, the money is insured by the FDIC - a department of the government. Jim admitted to being trained to act in that manner by his employer, but he said that in that particular moment his instincts took over and the response came natural to him.
What would I do in a situation like that? Sometimes I wonder. I hope that if circumstances placed me in such a position that I would have the fortitude to act in the same manner as Jim. He did, in my opinion, what is right and honorable. Instead of backing down to criminals, he stood up for both himself and all that is decent and right in the world. Was it a dangerous response? You betcha. But sometimes the right response or a just action will place you in harm’s way.
We are taught today from an early age to go along with what is considered to be ‘politically correct’ and to dare not make waves in our society. The ultimate trust and faith should not be in ourselves or our talents and abilities, but in the government and those that are otherwise in charge of us. We have become in many, many ways almost a custodial society, most of us, depending on others to make our decisions and to tell us what we should do. This is sad.
I may not be totally correct in this manner of thinking, but I have no doubt in my mind that I am very close. I also believe that it is going to get worse as the years go by.
James said in chapter four, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” There have been several times in my life (so far) where I had to make a decision that I knew would affect not only myself, but others as well. In those situations I usually think things through carefully, wanting to benefit others with my choices as I hope they would want to benefit me if they found themselves in the same situation and faced with the same set of choices. I am not always good at this, but I do strive to do my utmost when called upon to do so.
However, there have been several times when I have sat back, unwilling or unable to act during scenarios that required or even demanded that someone take action. I am speaking of secular situations as well as spiritual ones I have been confronted with in my past. To remain stoic when the Holy Spirit has moved you to do something is a sin, as explained by James. We think of sin as something that someone has to commit, but sometimes we can sin by omitting things that we should do.
Sometimes doing the right thing will not be the popular or ‘hip’ thing to do. And sometimes the right thing might place you in a bind or cost you something that you may hold dear to your heart. But as Christians we are called out by God’s Word to do the proper things at all times and this means no matter what the consequences may turn out to be for us in the end.
Wherever you are today, Mr. Nicholson, I wish only the best for you. When you foiled that robbery in my way of thinking, you did the right thing. I appreciate and I also admire you for it.
A Bad Attitude
It was very hard for me to get excited about going back to work this morning. A week off from work always makes me look forward to a time in my future when I will be able to retire. I look forward to the stress-free lifestyle that it surely will be and the chance to live in the sort of freedom I can only explore when I take some precious time off from work.
Some of you who may happen to be reading this are already furrowing your brow, jumping at the chance to correct me because it is no picnic, you’ll say. I won’t be listening. Retirement is my last remaining dream while I am on this earth, so let me live it! Anything is better than having to get up and go to work for a living, right? At any rate, it should be easy to top the mundane existence that I daily find myself in.
This is all tongue in cheek and I hope you caught that in between the words I’ve written. I have a little problem with my attitude today, and as a result I forgot for a little while about how thankful I should be to even have a job in this time we are living in. Again, though my job may be mundane as I have mentioned, at the very least it pays our bills. It is easy to forget what we have been blessed with when we do the same old things every day and there appears to be no end in sight. And it is also very easy to carry around a bad attitude about the way things are apparently going for you when you find yourself in that mind-set. It reminds me of a story in the Bible that is one of my favorites, and that being the case, it is a story I should always remember and take to heart.
Naaman was a Syrian and his story is found in Second Kings, chapter five. He was a great man the Bible tells us, but then it mentions that he was a leper. On the advice of a servant girl, he decides to pay Elisha the prophet a visit seeking help for his condition. He travels many miles, very tough to do especially with his health, and he finally arrives at Elisha’s house. Instead of healing him right away, or at least coming out to greet him, Elisha sends word through a messenger that Naaman should go wash himself in the Jordan River seven times. This obviously wasn’t the way he thought things would play out, and I’ll let the Bible give you Naaman’s response. “But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? May I not wash in them, and be clean?" So he turned and went away in a rage.”
He left in a rage. I only thought I had a bad attitude this morning! He had travelled for many days expecting a miracle or something of that nature at the very least - and this was all he was going to get? So he turns around, ready to leave, ready to give up, and ready to go back to the way things were at the beginning of the chapter; a great man that was oh-by-the-way, a leper.
As he is leaving, one of his servants musters up the courage to find his voice and asks, “My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? How much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?” Finally a voice of reason, and sometimes it takes someone stating what is blatantly obvious to cure a bad attitude. Naaman reconsiders, goes down to the Jordan, washes as instructed, and then he is cured.
I’m thankful for what God has given me and how He takes care of me and watches over me. All He asks is that I serve Him and live the life that He would have me to live. It is not really hard to do so either, certainly not most of the time. I need to remember that He has not asked me to do anything that I cannot do with His help for that matter. Instead of washing in the Jordan River, I have been washed in the Blood of the Lamb.
Cleaning up in that manner is a sure-fire cure for the common, bad attitude. Whether you find yourself a leper or a regular, run-of-the-mill sinner, it’s all the same to Him. It’s all about the cleansing that only He can provide.
Some of you who may happen to be reading this are already furrowing your brow, jumping at the chance to correct me because it is no picnic, you’ll say. I won’t be listening. Retirement is my last remaining dream while I am on this earth, so let me live it! Anything is better than having to get up and go to work for a living, right? At any rate, it should be easy to top the mundane existence that I daily find myself in.
This is all tongue in cheek and I hope you caught that in between the words I’ve written. I have a little problem with my attitude today, and as a result I forgot for a little while about how thankful I should be to even have a job in this time we are living in. Again, though my job may be mundane as I have mentioned, at the very least it pays our bills. It is easy to forget what we have been blessed with when we do the same old things every day and there appears to be no end in sight. And it is also very easy to carry around a bad attitude about the way things are apparently going for you when you find yourself in that mind-set. It reminds me of a story in the Bible that is one of my favorites, and that being the case, it is a story I should always remember and take to heart.
Naaman was a Syrian and his story is found in Second Kings, chapter five. He was a great man the Bible tells us, but then it mentions that he was a leper. On the advice of a servant girl, he decides to pay Elisha the prophet a visit seeking help for his condition. He travels many miles, very tough to do especially with his health, and he finally arrives at Elisha’s house. Instead of healing him right away, or at least coming out to greet him, Elisha sends word through a messenger that Naaman should go wash himself in the Jordan River seven times. This obviously wasn’t the way he thought things would play out, and I’ll let the Bible give you Naaman’s response. “But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? May I not wash in them, and be clean?" So he turned and went away in a rage.”
He left in a rage. I only thought I had a bad attitude this morning! He had travelled for many days expecting a miracle or something of that nature at the very least - and this was all he was going to get? So he turns around, ready to leave, ready to give up, and ready to go back to the way things were at the beginning of the chapter; a great man that was oh-by-the-way, a leper.
As he is leaving, one of his servants musters up the courage to find his voice and asks, “My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? How much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?” Finally a voice of reason, and sometimes it takes someone stating what is blatantly obvious to cure a bad attitude. Naaman reconsiders, goes down to the Jordan, washes as instructed, and then he is cured.
I’m thankful for what God has given me and how He takes care of me and watches over me. All He asks is that I serve Him and live the life that He would have me to live. It is not really hard to do so either, certainly not most of the time. I need to remember that He has not asked me to do anything that I cannot do with His help for that matter. Instead of washing in the Jordan River, I have been washed in the Blood of the Lamb.
Cleaning up in that manner is a sure-fire cure for the common, bad attitude. Whether you find yourself a leper or a regular, run-of-the-mill sinner, it’s all the same to Him. It’s all about the cleansing that only He can provide.
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