August 18
During a time when a cross-dressing basketball player kicks a spectator and a convicted rapist bites the ear off a boxing opponent, it is refreshing to watch professional athletes act—well, professional.
The 1998 baseball season will forever be remembered as the year Sweet Sammy and Mighty Mac chased Babe Ruth and Roger Maris, and did it with class.
I got turned off to baseball during the time that the major league baseball players went on strike and shut down the game. Baseball fans enjoy the illusion that the sport cares about us as much as we care about the sport. When management and the players took their eye off the ball and put it on money, I was disgusted and stopped watching for a few years.
This year, two sluggers, won me back. I was headed for the elevators at a local hospital when I heard the applause from a nearby waiting room. Immediately, I knew what happened. McGwire belted his 62nd homer of the year. Of course, I left the elevator and walked into the waiting room to see the replay. Remarkable!
After the replay, the camera focused on McGwire’s teammates congratulating him, when Sammy Sosa burst into the camera’s view to add his best wishes. Incredible!
Some might say that Sosa was a good loser. Not me. I’ve never believed there is anything good about losing. I think Sammy is genuinely a nice guy who loves baseball. He wasn’t about to miss celebrating the historical moment because McGwire got to 62 before him.
Jealousy can break our spirit and muzzle our joy. Kingdom Christians can celebrate the successes of others because they love God’s Kingdom and know that personal ambition must always yield to Kingdom celebration.
Jim L. Wilson, Fresh Start Devotionals (Fresno, CA: Willow City Press, 2009).
Good Sport
During a time when a cross-dressing basketball player kicks a spectator and a convicted rapist bites the ear off a boxing opponent, it is refreshing to watch professional athletes act—well, professional.
The 1998 baseball season will forever be remembered as the year Sweet Sammy and Mighty Mac chased Babe Ruth and Roger Maris, and did it with class.
I got turned off to baseball during the time that the major league baseball players went on strike and shut down the game. Baseball fans enjoy the illusion that the sport cares about us as much as we care about the sport. When management and the players took their eye off the ball and put it on money, I was disgusted and stopped watching for a few years.
This year, two sluggers, won me back. I was headed for the elevators at a local hospital when I heard the applause from a nearby waiting room. Immediately, I knew what happened. McGwire belted his 62nd homer of the year. Of course, I left the elevator and walked into the waiting room to see the replay. Remarkable!
After the replay, the camera focused on McGwire’s teammates congratulating him, when Sammy Sosa burst into the camera’s view to add his best wishes. Incredible!
Some might say that Sosa was a good loser. Not me. I’ve never believed there is anything good about losing. I think Sammy is genuinely a nice guy who loves baseball. He wasn’t about to miss celebrating the historical moment because McGwire got to 62 before him.
Jealousy can break our spirit and muzzle our joy. Kingdom Christians can celebrate the successes of others because they love God’s Kingdom and know that personal ambition must always yield to Kingdom celebration.
Jim L. Wilson, Fresh Start Devotionals (Fresno, CA: Willow City Press, 2009).
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