"Why
don't you ever gripe or complain about that horrible officiating out there?" I was a
bit caught off guard when Dave asked me this question after sharing the court during a
college basketball game many years ago back in the late 30s. (For those of you who get
this newsletter, but have forgotten who I am, I'm really not that old.) Now don't get me
wrong, I do my fair share of complaining about the refs, especially if I'm watching the
best basketball team in all of college, the Louisville Cardinals. Just to clarify, I only
do it when the refs make the wrong call ….. or at least when I am 56% or more certain
they made a bad call. I don't remember who won or lost on the court that day, but it was a
great opportunity for me to share a little bit about the Lord with him. I thought of I
Peter 3:15 which says to always be prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks you to
give the reason for the hope you have. This hope includes the realization that there are
more important things in life than who wins a particular sporting event, unless of course
it's the Louisville Cardinals. (Just kidding!)
So that
brings me to an interesting thing that happened on the tennis court here in lovely
We try to
play regularly at the tennis club he belongs to. We always try to make a point of
complimenting each other after a good shot, point or game. After playing one evening, we
were talking out in the parking lot. The guy working at the club locked everything up and
was heading for his car to leave. Since his car was parked in the employee of the month
space, I naively assumed he was the employee of the month so I congratulated him on that.
He walked over to us and said thanks, but informed me that he was not the
employee of the month, but that he just didn't feel like walking from the regular parking
places. Then he told us how he thought it was great that we are always so positive and
encouraging instead of cursing or yelling like many of the others. He added that some of
the other tennis players have even commented that they really appreciated it also.
Kevin and
I were stunned that anybody even noticed, let alone commented on it to one of the
employees. We were a bit too surprised to know how to respond.
The next
week I thanked Jonathan (name has been changed to protect …. no, actually that is his
real name) for his compliment. Then I told him one of the reasons we usually try to
encourage each other is because of what a wise sage once said. "Do unto others as you
would have them do unto you." (Luke 6:31) That wise man's name was Jesus Christ. I
know that I personally like being encouraged, so the best I can, I try to carry out that
advice by doing the same to others. Jonathan seemed to appreciate that information and has
even continued to talk to us when we see him!
So as
Christians, shouldn't we actually try to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ? Or is that
asking too much? Is it enough to simply go to church occasionally, never cuss, drink, or
chew ….. or go with girls who do? I hope we are all diligently seeking to live up to
the name of "follower of Jesus Christ." If you were arrested for being a
Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?