Billy Martin was one of the most controversial baseball managers of the New York Yankees. He was a great leader of his team but had his share of faults. Billy did not like anyone with authority over him. The owner of the team George Steinberger fired Billy five times. He also hired him back five times! They hated each other but they both loved the win more. It was all about winning the game. Billy disrespected umpires a lot. He was famous for kicking dirt on their shinny shoes. He loved to kick dirt all over home plate so they would have to clean it again. One time he picked up a handful of dirt and threw it on the ump. He was ejected from the field 19 times and four of those as a player. Billy had a fiery personality and loved to argue and often physically fight. The fans loved him. Billy died in a car crash on Christmas day just before being rehired a sixth time by Steinberger.
People are placed in authority to keep order. They dress in a manner that demands respect. Police officers, umpires, and referees are usually well groomed and dressed in a manner that reflects an attitude that they control the situation. They are also humans and will undoubtably make mistakes just like we do every day.
I am so thankful Jesus is aware of just how human we are. Jesus loves everyone. Everyone is everyone. ISIS hates Americans but God loves them. He dies for them too. He dies for everyone. When we are at war with a country killing happens on both sides, but God loves those people on both sides. PTSD happens because we were not born to kill and after experiencing war, it can have a long-term effect on the mind of soldiers and others.
Youth sports are a game. There is almost always a winner and a loser. Kids want to win and so do the coaches and parents. But it is still a game. Unfortunately for some coaches and parents it is all about winning and whatever we must do to get the win. Some of the things I witnessed from parents and coaches as a Little League player and later as a coach and home plate ump are unreal. The embarrassing outbursts from people on the field or in the stands as spectators is very disrespectful. Add alcohol and it quickly goes south in a hurry. It is just a game being played. Children watch and learn how to act at youth sports from us. Sadly, the example set by some parents is not what children need to witness.
My recent attendance at a high school basketball game in our town showed some of us, have so much to learn. If we are Christians saved by God’s loving grace, we need to always immolate Christ to the best of our ability. His name is in our identity by calling ourselves Christians. His Holy Spirit dwells within us and goes where we go. Yes, even to a basketball game. Side bar………….(We do a fantastic job as Christians on Sunday mornings at church for two hours and then cuss the person behind the counter for making our sandwich wrong after church. I am pretty sure we are to emulate Christ all seven days of the week. I am telling myself this too as I write this. I fail too.)
I arrived at the basketball game with a young man that rode my bus that has no dad in his life. I took him to the game to give him some dad time. His mom and his family are close friends of ours. We had so much fun cheering for our team and eating junk food. We sat where we would be behind our team’s bench but for some reason the other team was there, and our team was on the other end. Oh well, we stayed, as we were closer to the snack bar! Behind us were six people who had traveled a long way to support their team to victory over us. When the game started these folks were there to win! They were loud, sometimes obnoxious, did some sort of chant when we had the ball, questioned a lot of referee calls, and danced when their team scored, which was often. Many of our fans around them were Christians I know personally. They were annoyed by their behavior but again, it is a game. After the first quarter, I stood up and turned around and introduced myself and got to know them better. They were African American and so much fun to talk with. They showed me pictures of their kids and scores of the games they had played. They loved their team! One of them was a police officer from their town in uniform and came to watch them play. Their team was winning by like 30 points at halftime. We were no match for this team that was so talented and so fast. One of the men told me their boys’ team usually scores 80 points a game. This night they scored over 70 to win. I shook hands with them and thanked them for coming so far to support their kids. I was kind and loving to these folks because Jesus tells us in His Word to love everyone and that includes our guests in our gym to watch their kids play a game.
I was ridiculed by some Christians in the stands for shaking hands with these folks and being nice to them. I was told to change seats and sit somewhere else if I was going to continue to be nice to our opponent’s parents. Come on somebody, really? I was sitting behind their team’s bench! These folks are our guests in our city and our school campus. They paid admission and bought food from our snack bar. They traveled from near Memphis TN. to be here and support their team just like we do when we travel to away games. They had to pay money for gasoline to come. They are loved by Jesus the same way I am. We have no right at all to think of them as an enemy! If you do, then I will remind you that Jesus told us to love our enemies! I was deeply ashamed of how a Christian could belittle me for showing His love to someone that we were playing a game with.
Jesus loves every skin color he ever created and there are many beautiful skin colors in this world. Under that thin layer of skin is a human body and soul. Each one created with the same color of blood that He shed for our lives. Please do not pass judgement on any person simply because our skin does not match theirs, or because they cheer differently than I would. God gave His only son for every person who has ever lived or will live. Be Christ like to every soul you meet. These six people loved me and accepted me and had fun with me and we laughed and had a great evening cheering our teams on. They could have treated me like some of our team’s parents treated them as the enemy, but they did not. They responded in love to me, accepting me as a friend and host. When the game was over I told them I believed their team would win the final on Saturday night. They did too.
I did have an employee of the school come up to me on my bus on Tuesday and tell me they were watching me at the game as I interacted with these three families from Forest City. She said she loved it! She said it was so nice and funny to see me and them go back and forth when our team would score or theirs would score. She complimented me on making them feel welcomed to Highland Schools.
Community, let’s always make sure our guests feel welcome even in town or ion our campus, even if they cheer different or question a referee call. We are all guilty of questioning a ref call on tv or in person. We must remember, they called it as their eyes saw it, not how we might have seen it, and in most cases, they are closer to the player and trained better than we are to make calls. Plus, they are the authority on that court and what they say goes. Billy Martin learned that the hard way. The Umpires loved Billy Martin, because he was passionate about leading his team and standing up for them. There were many major league baseball managers who were ejected over 100 times! Obviously, they let him get away with a lot without ejecting him every game.
Remember God is always watching our actions and listening to our words. We will be held accountable someday. Me included.
•1 John 4:7 says, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God”.
•John 13:34 says, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another”.
Jim Everett
