I’ve had plenty of practice in recent years. I’m a sports fan (in case anyone doesn’t know that) and over the last few years I’ve watched as many of my athletic heroes have fallen flat on their faces.
Man, I hated Roger Clemens – everything about him. Then, he donned the pinstripes and I have to admit that it took a while for me to warm to him. But I did. I really did. I remember watching Roger walk off the mound for the last time, with a tear in my eye.
And then it turned out that his greatness likely came from a syringe.
I cheered for Tiger Woods when he was a scrawny little kid winning US Amateur events. I watched in wonder as he won major after major, producing the most amazing shots under intense pressure. GOAT – greatest of all time.
Then we found out that he was one of the greatest cheaters of all time.
My dad is a graduate of Penn State and I was taught reverence for Joe Paterno from a young age. We used to say that he not only won, but he won with honor. But confronted by the evidence that a friend and assistant was committing heinous acts, he stuck his head in the sand.
The man who won with honor ended his career in dishonor.
Ben Roethlisberger. Mark McGwire. Barry Bonds. It seems that so many of the great heroes of sports are unusually prone to cheating or behaving like dolts. It is a struggle.
Of course, now there is Lance Armstrong. I was a big fan. On July mornings during that seven year run, I would actually watch bike racing and I would believe that I was watching something Superman in biking shorts. And, though the accusations were always there, he never tested positive and I was able to hold on to the belief he was clean.
The interview with Oprah last night drove the last nail in the coffin of Lance’s heroism. Not only was he a cheater, but he was a bully, an ogre.
So, what do we do? How do we view fallen heroes in a redemptive, biblical way? Here are some responses I have observed.
1) The “Here Comes the Judge” Response
When our heroes fall, the pendulum swings from adulation to anger, and we can come down pretty hard on them. Tiger is a dog. Lance is a cheater. We can become rigid in our dislike for those we once cheered.
There was quite a bit of discussion this year when the Baseball Hall of Fame passed on the election of some of the greatest players of all time because of the steroids era. Many writers have promised to hold this grudge as long as those names appear on the ballot.
And I sympathize with that. If we tolerate cheating, we will get more cheating. I’m glad that Pete Rose is not in the Hall of Fame. There is a place for setting the standards and holding the line. That is a noble, even biblical concept.
But there is more to it than that. Is not grace at the center of what we do?
2) The “Judge Not” Response.
Few scriptures have been misinterpreted and misapplied than Jesus’ words, “Judge not that you be not judged.” I like the Paul Washer quote:
“People tell me judge not lest ye be judged. I always tell them, twist not scripture lest ye be like satan.”
But the “judge not” response has been evident everywhere in the sports world. I’m not perfect, so who am I to judge Tiger or Lance or any of the others. This response is often presented as a grace response, but it is more rooted in a lack of moral standards than it is in God’s grace. God’s grace is demonstrated not in ignoring sin, but in atoning for it.
3) The “Comedy Central” Response
Facebook has lit up over the last couple of days over Manti Te’o and his evidently fictional girlfriend. I will have to admit that I’ve laughed at a few of the jokes that have gone around. I think have some of Don Rickles’ DNA and this kind of sarcastic, biting insult comes very naturally to me.
But, though it pains me to say it, ridicule and sarcasm are not fruit of the Spirit. I’m not sure where that line is and I’m sure I cross it often. Laughing about things is a coping mechanism, but if we want to respond to honor God in a thing like this, there has to be more to it that filling Twitter and Facebook with biting insults!
4) The “My Guy-Your Guy” Response
Consistency is not a primary characteristic of sports fan. If a Yankee tests positive, I might tend to overlook it, but if one of the Boston Red Evils pops positive I might tend to take a much harder line.
Not much to say about this. It’s hypocrisy, but its also very human.
So, What Do We Do?
How ought Christians to respond to these situations? We must honor honesty and integrity while also prizing grace and redemption. It is easy to say what we should not do.
- We ought not act as if morals and standards are of no consequence.
- We ought not act as if there is no return from failure.
- We ought never treat people with disrespect, not matter how great their failure. (The only exceptions here are players for the Patriots or Red Sox – with them all rules are off. Sorry, back to normal programming.)
It does me no good to hold a grudge against Lance or Tiger or any of these failed stars. But should I ignore their failings and continue to cheer for them?
The fact is, I don’t really have the answers here. Maybe you have it all figured out. I’d love to hear what you think.
How do we uphold standards while showing grace? How ought Christians react when our heroes fail? The floor is yours.
My first response is sadness.
Roids entered my world when my beloved Carl Lewis lost to Ben Johnson in Seoul. I was stunned to think that someone could cheat at track, the purest of the individual sports (in my mind).
Merlene Ottey, CJ Hunter, Tim Montgomery, Regina Jacobs, Marion Jones, Justin Gatlin…runners who doped and broke my heart. Don’t even get me started on the notion that King Carl failed a test at some point; I’ll be over here with my head in the sand, thank you very much.
Honestly, my second response over the years has been to have no heroes. I’ve given up on feeling tremendous respect for athletes. The Cyclist Who Shall Not Be Named came close, I’ll admit, but even there I resisted.
My third response is to say, “Allow the system to punish them…then let’s welcome them back into the sports world for as long as they play by the rules.” To me, that is the essence of our faith. Paul advocated church discpline, but it was always with an eye on reconciliation. The Creator disciplined His people before the days of Christ, but always with an end goal of restoration.
Would I cheer for Marion Jones again, if she ever were to return? I doubt it. However, I would secretly watch her career and hope that she colored inside the lines until the day of her retirement.
Actually, Jeremy, I saw a tweet from you yesterday that kinda got me thinking about this post. Good thoughts.
Thanks for the twitter plug. I’ve been trying to figure out how mention it.
I think the title of this post should be changed to “When Your Idol Falls”. Heroes are those who demonstrate courage and noble character. Idols are those who are noted for performance apart from character. True heroes seldom fall, idols ultimately never stand. We would be far better served to laud genuine heroism and exercise restraint in our recognition of performance for its own sake.
Dave, mine will be brief. I remember when Jim Baker and Jimmy Swaggert had their issues. Dr. Charles preached a message entitled “When a Christian Brother Stumbles.” There was a statement that he made that sums up this whole issue for me. “When a Christian brother stumbles, it’s a time for self-examination or a time of self-exaltation.” I never forgot it.
1. Pray for those who have fallen that they will be saved if they are not, and that they will return to God if they are saved.
2. I am to examine my life to see what areas I need to repent of, thus keeping me from “thinking more highly of myself than I ought.”
Those are my thoughts.
Forgot to add: That was Dr. Charles Stanley.
I think your Stanley quote gets at something real. We put these athletes on a pedestal and then when they fail, we stand above them in derision. IT can be a form of self-exaltation.
Interesting.
I think this is where we focus on grace for individuals: should Lance Armstrong make an effort to spend his time encouraging people now to do right, I would encourage that.
However, his medals and yellow jerseys are gone and gone for good. You do not get the recognition from when you cheated.
It’s not unlike the dilemma I have about the NCAA enforcement process: Ohio State, USC, and others deserve their titles/wins vacated from the times of violations. Should the current generation of players pay a further penalty?
That’s nonsense, but we do it just the same even in church: that divorced couple? Why do we ostracize their kids? That mom who was 5 months pregnant when she married a man who committed to care for her and the baby abandoned by her father? She is forgiven: we do not have to always cast that sideways glance at her. Or her child: no real good comes from waiting 18 years to spring on that girl that “hopefully she won’t do like her mother did.”
Consequences endure, but people are redeemable through the grace of God. We remind of what God has removed pretty intensely.
OK, Dave. Level with us. What REALLY prompted this article? You’ve learned something scandalous about Justin Bieber, haven’t you? We’re all very sorry for your loss.
It’s really the recent negative press about Taylor Swift.
If there was a PED for preaching, I’d take it. Two shots at a time. In the same hip.
Bart:
Best one I have read all week!
Don’t encourage him, Louis!
These are good words. Getting a handle on our internal thoughts and personal reactions is important. We are all fragile and are capable of doing a lot of things.
But not letting our internal thoughts get in the way of solid judgment is important.
If a person I admire falls in a great way, I should not gloat. I should mourn and remember that I am capable.
But if that same person broke the law, for example, my personal reflections should not sway the administration of justice. The person should be treated as others who have done similarly.
Nor should my personal reflections dictate the actions of those involved with my hero. I, too, like Tiger Woods. The fact that he did not respect his marriage vows should sadden me. It should not cause me to be haughty, because I could go there, too.
But that doesn’t mean Tiger’s wife should not divorce him. My personal reflection shouldn’t dictate how she should react. If fact, based on what I know, if she came to me for counseling when all of this happened, I would encourage her to try and not to be hateful, but I would also encourage her to file for divorce immediately and get the best financial deal that he law allows.
This is a great post.
You missed a point: the problem is that we’ve made any of them heroes to begin with.
Yeah, that’s probably the other issue. But Lance? How could you not be amazed?
Guy almost dies of cancer, comes back and becomes the G.O.A.T. Seven in a row!
It’s a great story. But now the guy says he couldn’t have won without the PED’s. Maybe what’s amazing is that we believed him and not those who were telling the truth. Is it because we want to believe in Rocky?
Maybe ’cause I don’t care for cycling? Oh, and my attitude toward cycling has nothing to do with arrogant cyclists who abused their riding privileges and many drivers on my old street for the last seven years.
Dave, Don Rickles is my hero. I’m sure he has performed and insulted people every night without the aid of PED’s. Dave words cant describe that outfit so I will just throw up – in his honor. Dean
Keeping our eye fixed on Jesus.
Hebrews 12:2
“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
All our heroes in this world have Achilles’ heels at worst, and sometimes they are veritable devils in disguises. Even David a man after God’s own heart could commit adultery, practice deceit, and perpetrate a murder, and yet he wound up being called a prophet and the (get the the) patriarch in Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost. That gives us all pause for thought. And then Paul who stated love does not become enraged, became enraged over John Mark. We live in a fallen, broken world, filled with broken, fallen sinners. Our biggest disappointments ought to be with ourselves…and not others.
“Our biggest disappointments ought to be with ourselves…and not others.”
Excellent!
I’m going to remember that one.
I guess I was lucky in a twisted sort of way. The guy that had the home Bible study that really changed my life .. who became my prayer partner and jogging buddy in the late 60’s .. eventually left his wife and ran off with a student teacher. I was devastated. But then, one of my earliest mentors said “If he didn’t save you, he’s not your hero”.
It was at that point that I came to the knowledge that all mankind will disappoint, sooner or later. That only Jesus was the One who would never let me down. And I have held that thought rather firmly, ever since.
If I enjoyed watching Tiger Woods play golf, or profited from a Jimmy Swaggart sermon, then their fall doesn’t need to change that. As has been said, they didn’t save me and never were my heroes.
This is one reason why I’ve never been enamored of Hollywood, politics, sports, etc. I like a good movie, TV show, ruling, or game. There’s just not many good ones.
My heroes will probably never be well-known. There’s the pre-teen girl living in a dump whose shack only has three walls and she cooks over an open flame. Her mother had left to work in a city a few hours away and she survives by milking her goat every day and scrounging for food in the dump. Her neighbors, Maria and Genesis, also live in the dump, praising God for healing Genesis of a deadly disease.
Then there’s the man whose wife left him with 6 daughters. They have joint custody, but he has taken it on himself to make sure the girls are active in church, all the while staying strong for them and taking care not to speak unkindly of their mother, so he takes the lion’s share of the care, not only for their physical needs, but also for their emotional and spiritual needs.
Then there’s the single mother whose husband left her with full responsibility for the kids. With a low-paying job, she started a business she runs from home so she can provide for them as they look to go off to college.
Then there’s the retired mother whose grown son, and the last member of her family, suffers greatly as he recovers slowly from bacterial meningitis and a subsequent stroke.
Then there’s the pastor in India who has forsaken the honor of pastoring churches among those in his caste to plant churches in the slums. Consequently, he has no certain source of income for his family, but God provides anyway, enough so that he is even able to pursue a D.Min.
Then there’s my wife who has to put up with me and does so without complaint.
When it boils down to it, these kind of people are my heroes.