Sports: the language that needs no translation.
I've waited for this moment ever since moving to Hong Kong last year...
...I've watched and watched as all the locals play their pickup games of soccer in the parks and dreamed of the day that I could be among them.
Today was that day. It just took what I thought was a wrinkle in my plans, and it all turned out better than I expected.
2.5 incredible hours of being the sole white guy playing game after game of pickup soccer. I had no idea what was being said. And I didn't need to. I haven't played soccer in over a year, and it was ok. My muscles ached. My feet pounded. My body just hurt. And I loved it!
One thing that makes soccer (football in HK) so great, as with many sports, is that the purpose is very clear. Your goal is the goal, and there are no questions about it. Score a few goals, and you're in the clear
But it's not no simple in the Christian life. I mean, we know that we have one path. Jesus claims to be "the Way, the Truth and the Life." So as long as we hold true to His teachings we should be ok, right? I think scoring a goal is easier.
In Matthew 23 seven woes are proclaimed to the Scribes and the Pharisees. Jesus warns them to change their ways. He shows them how they wash the outside of their plates and cups so they appear clean, yet the insides remain dirty. Again, he tells them they are like white-washed tombs, beautiful and clean on the outsides, but only containing dry old bones on the inside...nothing resembling the "life abundantly" that Jesus came to give us.
Easy as it is to look down my nose at the Scribes and Pharisees and proclaim "Why didn't they understand what Jesus was trying to teach them?", I realize how easy it is for me to fall victim to the same trap. Especially now that I'm part of the 'rat race', holding a job in a bustling city where just walking down the sidewalk makes me feel like I've gotta be competing with everyone around me...for...what? To look like I've got it together? To look like I'm more in shape than the next guy? To look like I'm successful and happy?
These things are not ultimately bad, of course. You don't need me to tell you that. But they are not the point. The point is that the inside is of more importance. It seems so base to say this. It's hopefully what Christians are taught from day 1, but I think it's easier said than done.
So let's help each other out in trying to keep our focus off of appearances and on issues of the heart. On love. On compassion. On 'whatever is noble, whatever is pure, whatever is just', and the list goes on.
I beg you to help me with this. And I hope that somehow I can be an encouragement to you, too.
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4 comments:
Hey man, I'll back you up if you back me up. Just know that you have tons of dudes willing to walk it out with you. I know I've got them here with me. No, I don't mean "DO IT HOW YOU DO IT, GO ON AND WALK IT OUT" because that song is ridiculos.
you already encourage me -- but you knew that.
Jesse. Good point. Of what you speak, scoring a goal is much simpler. How to convey this to 17 year olds? Write a blog on the nature speech you said to the girls on trip last summer that you told me... you're a good little blogger, little brother.
maybe you should try to update once in awhile slacker. gosh.
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