Why God's Grace is Better than Baseball.

I’m a baseball fan. I’ve been a baseball fan off and on ever since I played my first game of coach-pitch in my cut-off shorts in 1981. And unfortunately, I’m a Texas Rangers fan. Yes, I’m a fan of the team that’s never won a second-round playoff series. One reason for our misfortune is the New York Yankees. No, the Yankees are not in that division, but if the Red Sox beat the Yankees for the division title, the Yankees are usually the wild card team for the first round.

And why are the Yankees so great? The answer is easy. Money. Yes, M-O-N-E-Y. Cold cash. Greenbacks. Smackers. Somolians. Buckaroos. Clams. And in a league where there are not many restrictions on capitol, the team that has deep enough pockets to pay for all the top players, is the team that has the most success. This is no secret in baseball circles and the Yankees make no bones about having the funds to create baseball's most productive, perennial powerhouse. And what happens is other teams become breeding grounds for future Yankees.

Two of the most talented current Yankees are both former Rangers. The Rangers drafted and groomed Alex Rodriguez and when he outgrew his Texas-sized salary, he got traded to the Yankees. First baseman Mark Teixiera was drafted by the Rangers in the 5th round of 2001. When he really started playing like the player the Rangers needed, he moved on up to wear the Yankee blue after a couple of short stints in Atlanta and Anaheim. So the perennial pattern is that the Rangers world-famous farm system will prove to be a ripe field for the Yankees and other teams with deep pockets.

Were money like grace, infinitely abundant, baseball and a lot of other things would be different. But thanks be to God that it’s not. God’s grace is not rationed out in an unequal manner so that some people get a lot, and others get less or none. God’s grace is abundant. In Romans 6:1-7, Paul writes that grace is directly proportional to sin. The more we sin, the more grace we receive. But he goes on to say that we should not keep sinning just so that grace will abound! Paul also writes in I Corinthians 12:9 that God’s grace is sufficient for us. This doesn’t mean life will be perfect. This doesn’t even mean that all of our earthly needs will be met. But the grace that Christ’s salvation offers is something that can not be taken away—not even by death!

So the next time you see someone and feel like they’ve just been blessed by God beyond measure, (or when you see your favorite baseball team get trashed again by the Yankee blue,) before you start getting envious, remember that God’s grace is infinitely abundant and his grace is sufficient for me and you.

Nike and Tiger-An Image of God's Grace

Several weeks ago, I blogged about what Christians can learn from the Tiger Woods press conference (the first statements he made after the scandal hit the media). Since it's obvious this Tiger Woods debacle is not going away any time soon, I suppose I will jump back in and see what it is we can learn from the rest of this whole thing-especially since the guy is more famous now than he was before we found out the number of mistresses he had on the side was in the double digits.

As part of the whole scandal, Tiger lost a lot of notable advertising endorsements from companies who felt he no longer carried an image of integrity that they sought to promote to their audience. But Nike chose to stick by him; a move that was questioned by a lot of people.

But in Nike's latest commercial is an image of God's grace. Now, Tiger is not a Christian. He has been very open about his Buddhist beliefs. But I think the way Nike has handled the situation shows us how Christians should speak the truth in love when someone has fallen from grace.

When I found out Nike and others were keeping him on board, I suspected they would sweep the whole thing under the rug and act like it had never happened. But the latest Tiger commercial has absolutely nothing to do with golf, sports, competition, or athletic skill. It is all about integrity and choices. It eerily puts Tiger's dead-still mugshot staring blankly into the camera with a subtle blink of the eyes to let the viewers know it's actually a video all the while a recording of his deceased father questions him about his thoughts and choices.

In the church, when our brothers and sisters make choices, we are called to speak the truth in love. This doesn't mean ignoring sin, it is acknowledging that sin, but also forgiving and calling others to receive God's forgiveness and renew their commitment to God. In Romans 5-6, Paul reminds us that the law was given so we could know what sin was. And that grace is directly proportional to sin. So as sin increases, grace increases all the more. But we should not keep sinning so that we receive more grace. A fall from grace is a time to acknowledge what went wrong and make a change.

This whole experience has been incredibly humbling for the world's greatest golfer. Sin does that to us, it brings us to our knees and for those of us who believe, it should bring us to the foot of the cross. How do you handle those who have fallen from grace? How have you been treated when you've made mistakes?