The more I learn about myself, the more I realize that the Lord really did create me uniquely and by uniquely, I mean WEIRD. I'm not doubting that God knew what He was doing when He made me, but it doesn't change the fact that when you break down my personality and my gifting, they don't always go together. Exhibit A: I have the spiritual gift of showing mercy but I can be one of the most judgmental people I know. Let me explain a little bit, I'm my own worst critic so I judge myself harshly, if I judge anyone else, I'm without question judging myself more. I hate when I screw up in any way, but I especially hate my sin. What it took me a long time to realize though is that when I don't forgive myself for my past sins, I can't experience the freedom that Christ has given me from those sins. I also tend to be harsh on my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. We are called to be set apart so when we sin and behave as the world does, what is setting us apart? But here's where my showing mercy kicks in, if someone repents and apologizes for their mistakes, I'm the first person to welcome them back with open arms. Also, when a non-believer is living for themselves or doing anything that contradicts the way I believe a life should be lived because of what I know to be Truth, my heart is sad for them, but I can't judge them in any way. I fully understand that we can't hold non-believers to the same standards that we hold believers to so why would they deserve any judgment from us? With that being said, I'm a firm believer that we should walk alongside them and speak Truth into their lives so that they can experience the same freedom that we as believers have experienced through the act of Christ on the cross. I think where I struggle the most, is that that's what I should be doing for fellow believers when they aren't living in a way that pleases the Lord, walking alongside them in love and speaking Truth into their lives. The last thing they need is for me to be judging them, but not passing judgment on them doesn't mean that I let them continue in their sin without doing anything.
This whole conversation and inner dialogue came when the St. Louis Cardinals (my favorite and arguably the best organization in baseball) signed Jhonny Peralta. For those of you who don't know Peralta (as I will now refer to him because I know otherwise I will misspell JHOnny at some point - who wouldn't?) was suspended for 50 games last season when he tested positive for PED's. I'm a huge advocate that one of the reasons that the Cardinals are the best organization is because they not only value talent, but they value character. I am a huge integrity person, so for the Cardinals to sign someone whose integrity has been brought into question was a huge pill for me to swallow. Then the Lord started working on my heart. He showed me that once again I was being quick to judge instead of quick to show mercy.
First of all, it is easy to put professional athletes on a pedestal and expect them to live this perfect life and when they fall short to quickly push them off that pedestal. Their lives are in the spotlight and they are supposed to be good examples for our kids, but in all actuality, they are normal people whose lives are more publicly seen but just as capable of making mistakes as the rest of us. Then I started to think about Peralta himself. I have no idea if Peralta has a relationship with Christ or not, but in all actuality what does it matter? I know I talked earlier about how Christians are supposed to be set apart, but that doesn't mean that Christians don't fail. If Peralta isn't a Christian, honestly, why would he not cheat and used PEDs? Sure using them is against the rules, but if you don't believe you have to eternally answer for it and you can see the immediate reward, what is stopping you? If he is a believer, there is a huge reason not to cheat and use them, but then I think of myself. I've cheated. I'm a cheater. I've cheated in school and I've cheated in playing games with friends. Is it on the same scale as cheating in professional sports, maybe not, but in God's eyes it is. God's punishment for those who cheat on any level is the same. But good news for us, He also offers us all the same free gift, forgiveness which then gives us eternal life. When Jesus Christ came to die on the cross, He didn't die for just a couple of us, He died for us all. If we accept Jesus as our Savior and make Him Lord of our lives, then He forgives and we can experience freedom from the sin that plagues this earth. Will we still make mistakes? Yes. But we can take comfort in knowing that we are forgiven and that when we have a relationship with Christ, we are also given a Helper, that is the Holy Spirit who gives us power to do the right thing. One thing we do need to realize though is that even though we can be forgiven we have to face the consequences of our wrong choices.
Ok, back to Peralta. He cheated. I get that. But he also has paid the consequence for it. He admitted he was wrong and he sat out his 50 game suspension. He now has every right to play the game with whichever team he pleases (and of course whichever team wants him to play for them) at whatever salary they agree upon. We could get into the argument that a 50 game suspension isn't enough of a punishment (with which argument I fully agree!), but is it Peralta's fault that the punishment is only 50 games? No, it's MLB's fault so take it up with them and leave Peralta out of it. Since I'm a Cardinals fan, I obviously want to see Peralta kick some butt over the next 4 seasons but more importantly I want him to do it cleanly. I'm tired of hearing all of the backlash about this signing though, both for him and for the Cardinals. A mistake was made, he paid the consequence, now let's move on. Because that's exactly what God does for us, when we make mistakes all we have to do is recognize we are screwed without the sacrifice of Jesus, ask for forgiveness, and then God promises that our sins are as far away as the east is from the west. Praise God for loving us enough to send His Son to die in our place so that we can be forgiven and live eternally with Him one day!
