Spiritual Lessons from Baseball 4

Baseball is a cruel game, and a game that defies predictability. The best players strike out at the most inopportune time. The bottom of the line up comes through when you think there's no hope. You see it all the time.

This past week in my boys little league playoffs, I saw the clean up hitter go down looking in the bottom of the sixth inning with his team down by two. I saw the best hitter on another team ground out with the bases loaded to end the inning. At the same time, I saw a triple from an unlikely hero, and a kid get his first (maybe second) hit of the season to drive in a run. Crazy. And it's not just little league. Remember Billy Buckner - the Red Sox first-base man who let the ball roll through his legs in game six of the world series? Yeah, for his career he had only 128 errors on more almost 14,000 chances. In other words, he messed up less than 1% of the time! Inopportune time for a solid player to make a mistake...but it happens.

When I was a baseball novice, I'd look at who was coming up in the lineup and say, "Oh good, we got this," or, "Nope, we're done." I've seen to much now - baseball is fickle. It's unpredictable.

The spiritual lesson here is that sinners and saints be equally unpredictable. In the Christian sphere we place certain saints on pedestals. We hold them up as exemplars of godliness. That isn't all bad - it's good to have examples to emulate (see 1 Cor. 11:1). But, we have to remember, just as baseball hero's strike out, spiritual hero's stumble and fall.

The difference between a great ball player and a not so good one - they don't allow the errors, strikeouts, etc, to become habit. They'll figure out what they did wrong, and make adjustments. They won't dwell on their failure, but learn from it. You have to have a real short memory in baseball. You made an error in the field, you better shake it off cause you're up in the bottom half of the inning.

So it is with the saint. When a saint stumbles and fall, they don't wallow in self pity and become morose. They have short memories - enabled by the grace and forgiveness of God to leave past failures in the past.  They learn from their stumble - what led me to this uncharacteristic sin? Did I neglect prayer? Have I not been regular in meeting with God, with his people? What string did the devil pull when he was tempting me and why did it work? They'll learn, but they won't be fixated. They'll learn so that their journey to Christ-likeness isn't derailed, but advanced.

I like what  Daniel Doriani says in Putting the Truth to Work. He writes,

"Character changes slowly, but change it does, so that no single action is absolutely predetermined by it. It is possible to do something that is out of character and so to violate our nature. Yet when we do so, we may begin to change who we are. Aristotle, with pagan wisdom says, "We become just by doing just acts." CS Lewis, with Christian wisdom, says, "Every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you...into something different from what it was before. And taking your life  as a whole, with all you innumerable choices, all you life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or a hellish creature."

The saint may do something out of character, something hellish. He must guard against it become habitual and a part of his character. On the other hand, those of us who don't feel very 'saintly' can, by slight increments, be formed into the holy ones we are. By God's grace we can, little by little become what we are - turning from sinners to saints. There wonderful hope in that.

The number nine hitter can make adjustments and get better! The liar can become a man of integrity. The scoundrel, a person of faithfulness.

Spiritual Lessons from Baseball, Part 3

We absolutely love the watching our kids play ball. That's not to say the season doesn't get a little frustrating at times - it gets hot, the schedule seems to change frequently (especially this year in the recreational league), etc.  The most frustrating part of having three kids playing baseball on four different teams is having to constantly make decisions about what you're going to miss, and what the kids are going to miss.

For example, one of Jacob's games fell on the same night as an end of the year school program. One of Caleb's games was on the same night as the meeting for kids who wanted to play an instrument in band next year. Jake's had to miss games for one team to be at games for the other. (So far, Luke's social calendar includes baseball only, so not too many conflicts for the five year old).

These decisions are hard to make...Jake is committed to both teams. He hates to shaft one for the other. He's committed to his school and class, so hates to miss something there. Caleb loves his team and hated to miss a game to do the band stuff. But sometimes you are left with impossible situations - you aren't choosing between good and bad, but between good and good. You have competing commitments.

To me, this is just a small illustration of one of the big challenges of living the Christian life outside of Eden. Think about all the things that compete for your time, money, energy, etc. Most of them are pretty good. For example, how much time should you give to Bible studies, small groups, church services, etc. Lots? But in doing so you are cutting down on the time you can spend in the community, forging relationships, being salt and light, etc. Hmmm. On the other hand, if you short change your own spiritual growth and the church, will you loose your saltiness? Or take money for instance...should you give to the missionary who asks for support, or to the youth missions trip, or the relief agency in town?

Few of us will ever likely find ourselves in the situation Rahab did when she was forced to lie to protect the Israelite spies - a situation where to commitments/values came into sharp conflict. We are to value life and truth. But, in a broken world, we will often be forced to to make tough decisions about which values and commitments will trump others. Will we be a good employee even when our boss requires us to lie? Will we honor our parents when they demand we act dishonorably? Etc.

Frankly, we just aren't wise enough to see our way clear of a lot of these situations. Yet. We'll make mistakes, poor evaluations...we'll sin even when we're trying to do good. Thank God for his patience and grace. Thank God that he will eventually put the world to right so these situations will no longer ensnare us.

Spiritual Lessons from Baseball, Part 2

Yesterday Jake's travel team went out to Bloomfield for a double header. It was a long hot day, but the boys did incredibly well. The played up a level - we're a team of 7's & 8's with two 9 yr. olds, and we played teams with 8's and mostly 9's. In addition, it was the first time we had ever done kid pitch (vs. coach pitch, which usually begins at the 9yr. old level). We won both games, which was amazing.  But, something hit me yesterday - a parallel between how we often encourage and coach kids in sports and how we coach people in their spiritual lives.

Jake was the first kid to take the mound for us. Everyone - coaches, parents, teammates - was incredibly encouraging. The most oft repeated phrase, from the kids and parents (including me)  was "just throw strikes". He did. But I doubt he went up to the mound thinking, "should I throw strikes or balls?"  The question wasn't a matter of volition, but ability. He, and every other pitcher, wants to throw strikes. But how? Sometimes one of the coaches would offer helpful advice - adjust your sights, finish your pitches, etc. (thanks Matt). But most of us just offered the same cliche piece of wisdom - throw strikes.

It happens at every level, from the older kids to the tballers, and on the other end of the deal too. Just hit the ball. No kidding - but how?

How often do we adopt the 'just do it' mentality or offer this simplistic wisdom when it comes to spiritual matters?  More than I would probably like to admit. To the person struggling with porn, we say, 'just quit it'. To the person who's afraid to share their faith, we urge, 'just be bold'.

Granted, sometimes we need to be reminded of the simple things. The kid whose over-thinking every pitch and stressed about where to put the ball into play may need to hear, 'just do it'.  But the kid who's walked the bases loaded needs more than that. The kid who's struck out 9 times in a row needs more insight than just hit the ball. Similarly, the person who is indulging in sin or just being lazy may need the reminder to 'just ___________." But rare are those instances.

More often, as spiritual friends, we need to have better answers, or admit we don't. Put away the cliches. Remember, and remind others, that we can't 'just do it.' We can't do what we called to do. Don't give the religious 'pull yourself up by your own bootstraps' mentality get a foothold.  Moralism is a friend of phariseeism, but not of genuine faith or holiness (holiness without faith is, after all, a sham). Remember, you need God's provision - his grace, his power, his Spirit -  to obey God's commands.

So, step in and help the brother dissect where their spiritual swing is off - where is God's grace being offered but not made avail of? Where are the hic-ups in their delivery - where are the relying on self instead of Spirit. Most importantly, how can we abide more in Christ, since without this "you can do nothing."

Don't pull a Newhart:

Hamilton interview

Pretty awesome interview with Hamilton. Love the humility, the talk of the means of grace in his life, the cross and forgiveness. Oh, and hitting the ball square and not trying to crush it.

Spiritual Lessons from Baseball

Okay, so I spend inordinate amounts of the spring, summer and even fall on a baseball field. We pretty much live there for four months. Last week: three practices on Saturday plus a double header in Bloomfield, two games on Tuesday night, one on Wednesday night, then a tournament Saturday/Sunday in Jasper. Don't get me wrong, we love it. But, putting that much time in on the fields, certain spiritual truths have been confirmed and doors have been opened to teach my kids valuable lessons about life with Christ through a game. This series will be infrequent (like most blog series), and irregular, but I hope profitable to me, my boys, and those who read this blog.

This weekend was a roller coaster for Jake. He played incredibly well and we are always proud of his attitude and work ethic (he was up at 5:45am to hit the road for a 9am game). In the first game of the tournament (a great win for the whole team that played great defense and had timely hitting) Jake had four RBI's and was just solid all around. We looked great in the second game for five of the six innings, but the wheels fell off the buggy in one inning and the opposing team scored four runs on a lot of errors. We found ourselves down 3-4 (Jake had one of those runs and batted another one of the runs in). With one last at bat to tie it up or pull ahead, the first two batters struck out. We were down to our last out. The next three reached on infield bloops and/or errors. So Jake came up with two outs, bases loaded in the last inning. He swang at the first pitch and hit a pretty shard ground ball to the right side of the infield. He was thrown out and the game ended. He was crushed, feeling he had let the team down.

As a parent, it was hard, but good too. It was a character building moment. Jake was upset, and that was good - if he wasn't I would question his competitive drive. But how would he respond? Would he quit, blame others or have a defeatist attitude in the next game?

(It brought to mind this Jordan commercial:)




To me, it seems like that is a situation very parallel to my struggle against sin. Some days I feel triumphant. I feel like I've got old sinful patterns licked - I haven't been rude to Lynn, haven't lost my temper with the boys, haven't let arrogance gain a foothold, etc. Honestly, those days are rare - I'm no Spiritual Allstar!

Other days, I've struck out in the bottom of the ninth - I've let myself, my family, the church, and more importantly my Savior down. I've been a poor witness in the world, done things I ought not have done and left things undone I should have done. I've bit my tongue would I should have spoken, spoken when I should have shut up. Those days happen more frequently than I would like to admit. But, the coach keeps putting me back in the game! I have to decide daily, will I quit and wallow in my sin? Will I just make room for my sin, resigning myself to it? Will I rationalize it and feed it? Or will I shake the dust off and get back in the game?

Jake played great the next game. I wasn't there, but he was quick to tell he wasn't perfect (he went 2 for 4), but a productive and contributing member of the team (with a few RBI's and a couple of runs scored). They won 11-3 and went on to the tournament semifinal where they lost. They ended up taking third place in the tournament (out of eight teams), which is a pretty impressive showing. Certainly they wanted to win instead of lose the semifinal game, but they'll get back up and be ready to fight in the next tournament!

That's all you can ask for. Keep on getting back in there. I pray my family and I learn that lesson in relationship to our spiritual lives too.

Last night we ended Connexion with the song "Give Me Faith."  The chorus says, "My flesh may fail, but my God never will." Not exactly. Your flesh will fail, but God calls us to get back up and get in the fight (ok, now I'm mixing my metaphors).  And certainly, he gives us the grace and strength to do it.

 

Double!

For grandparents who don't get to come to games, here's a look at Jake's double down the right field line. Forgive the cameraman.

Luke is up to bat

Yep Luke, not Jake or Caleb. Jake's fall-ball coach asked if Luke wanted to try and play in the last game of the season. He was so excited! Thanks Jeff.

Pics from our Ellettsville Tournament

It was a long hot weekend at the Ellettsville ballfields. We won our first game, then lost the next two (we ended up playing the same team twice due to how pool play worked out). Jake was rock solid in the field - turning a couple sweet double plays.

Indianapolis Indians Game

We had a good time at the Indians game last night. Early inning were a little rough with the sun directly in your eyes, and that seem to make some little ones a little grumpy. But, a little food and the sun setting turned it all around and we had fun. Caleb got a few autographs - though you can't make them out and I don't knew who signed the yearbook. We left after the 9th with the game tied 5-5. Eventually the Indians won 7-6 in the 12th. Jury is still out on whether the boys like good seats at a Indianapolis game or the cheap seats at a Major League game.

From Baseball game in Indy

From Baseball game in Indy

Song of the Week

On opening day for the Tribe, I thought this was perfect. It's from one of the great baseball movies of all time "Major League" (mainly because it's about the Indians winning the pennant). 'Wild Thing' pretty much sums up our pitching last year. I'm not at all worried about the Indians offense, but if this song proves true of our pitching staff again, it could be a very long year. We'll see.

Wild Thing (Re-Recorded / Rema...

Tribe Baseball

This may not happen often this season, so I'll rub it in! We won! The Reds only got five hits off one of the worst pitching teams in baseball. And the Indians bats were definitely working. Can't wait to see if that holds against real pitching in real games. I'm not optimistic, but a little more so tonight than this morning.

Baseball Jeopardy

Victor Martinez, Rafael Betancourt, Ben Francisco, Cliff Lee, Mark DeRosa, CC Sabathia, Paul Byrd all have these two things in common.

What is they are all playing in the playoffs this year and played for the Cleveland Indians in the last two years!

Oh, and don't forget about Ryan Ludwig, Casey Blake, and Manny Ramirez who are also playing in the playoffs and used to play for the Indians.

GRRR!

Indians vs. Reds

The family took the day and headed to Cincinnati for a ball game yesterday. I had never been to Great American Ball Park - it's awesome. It was a great game - a real pitchers duel with drama. Lee pitched well, allowing 3 runs in 7 innings. Sizemore, the boys favorite player, had a couple of hits including a triple and a close play at home in which he was called out but the call was reversed due to interference by the 3rd baseman. The boys favorite part was when "Redlegs", the mascot squirted me with his water cannon, stole my Indians hat and filled it with water before putting it back on my head. Great times. Luke was surprisingly good, as long as we kept feeding him stuff! The game was tied in the bottom of the 10th when we took off. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the Reds won in the bottom of the 11th.

The Greats

The cartoon got Caleb and me talking baseball. He asked me who my favorite baseball ever was (when I asked him who he thought it was he said Grady Sizemore - not yet). Here's a clip of my favorite player ever Lou Gehrig. What a classy guy.

Getting ready for baseball

With only 5days, 18hrs and 11minutes left till the first game of the spring season, it's time to prepare. Too cold outside. Hmm, try this:

Baseball It is bottom of the ninth; rally your team to win the game with only 3 outs left

Play this free game now!!

Explaining A-Rod to Caleb

On Friday Caleb came home all excited. That morning we sent him with $7 to buy a book from the schools book fair. He came home with "The 50 Best Baseball Players of 2008". By the way, three Indians made the list (Sizemore, Sabbathia and Martinez). In the number one spot, Alex Rodriguez. Saturday, the news broke that in 2003 that A-Rod tested positive for two different kinds of steroids. The discussion came on Sunday when Caleb asked the question, "Did A-Rod cheat?" Yep, it appears he did (so put your bat down and stop gloating you jackass). It was actually a great chance to talk to Caleb about what I'd call 'cultural sins', though I didn't use those words. We spoke about how sometimes so many people are doing something, like taking drugs to make themselves better athletes, that it seems okay to do it. It might even seem like a necessity (I'm sure many ball player thought they needed to cheat to keep up, and I'm sure many kids have been tempted to cheat in school to keep up too). Problem is, it's still wrong. Now A-Rod will have the asterisk next to his name too (along with Bonds, Sosa, McGuire, Clemens, and all the rest).

If Caleb were a couple years older I would love to have pushed the conversation, urging him to consider what sins we as Christians living in the 21st century West are able to condone because so many people are doing it? What sins are we blinded to in our lives and churches? To me, it's a scary question to ask, but a scarier question not to ask.

The good news of the day

Good news for baseball fans: only 5 days till pitchers and catchers report for spring training and only 18 days till the Indians start their preseason! What to do in the meantime?

40 days and counting

The Indians have made some good off season moves, including the addition of Kerry Wood to the bullpen. That alone is enough to put us in playoff contention, considering all the games that were blown in the 8th/9th innings. Then they added infielder Mark DeRossa which should help them in batting average and RBI's. If we can keep Hafner and Martinez healthy and Grady Sizemore continues his stand out play, we'll be real good. Can't wait till spring training!

good post by Scott McKnight

I got on McKnight's case earlier this week, so I thought I'd give him kuddo's for this brilliant post.

10 Reasons Why Baseball is Better Than Hockey:

1. Green: baseball is played on a green field; hockey on white ice.
2. Wrigley, Fenway, Yankee Stadium: name one interesting hockey place.
3. Names: Babe Ruth, Pee Wee Reese, Ernie Banks vs. Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr.
4. Scoring: single, double, triple, homer vs. "It's a goal!"
5. Teeth: baseball players have them.
6. Season: summer vs. winter (and even when it's not winter they have to freeze the place to have a game).
7. Shrine: Cooperstown vs. ??? (is there such a place?)
8. Word: baseball players all wear a cup, hockey plays for one cup.
9. Instruments: bats and balls vs. sticks and pucks. Symmetry, baby, symmetry.
10. Pace: baseball plays until the boys say it's done; hockey is governed by a clock.

Only 52 days...

With the Dolphins loss today, all I can say is 52 days till the first Indians spring game!