12.12
After writing the post the other day about how Christians need to stop acting as if God is telling them every move to make, I remembered a post by Melinda over at STR’s blog about Reggie White and some things he said before he died. Here are the comments I’m speaking about:
White was also known for citing God’s will in announcing pivotal career decisions. When he left the Eagles to sign with Green Bay, he claimed God had told him to make the move. And when he came out of brief retirement late in his career, he again attributed the decision to God’s instruction.
Contrast that with the White who emerged shortly before his unexpected death nearly two years ago. “When I look back on my life, there are a lot of things I said God said. I realize he didn’t say nothing. It was what Reggie wanted to do. I do feel the Father … gave me some signals … but you won’t hear me anymore saying God spoke to me about something — unless I read something in Scripture and I know.”
–Tom Krattenmaker, US News (on Reggie White)
His comments are one that only a mature Christian would make. Like I posted the other day, the church has become infected with god-told-me-to language, and it takes a big man to admit that what he told people god said in the past is not really the case. The rest of the article goes on to talk about Christianity in sports and how many atheletes use their sports fame as a podium to proclaim their faith. Of course, the whole view of the article is that Reggie disavowed that practice before his death and that it’s a bad thing in general. Take this passage for instance:
A frequent speaker at churches and religious events, a man quick to turn post-game interviews into opportunities to proclaim God, White probably did more than any other sports star to usher in the conspicuous religiosity that we witness in pro sports today. As a player, White correctly sensed that his preaching wasn’t welcomed by all fans. But he stormed past that disapproval as though it were just another lineman blocking his path to the quarterback.
Why is it that Michael Moore, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Cheryl Crow and the like are free to use the Oscars and the Grammy’s and every interview they have to spout their politics and their liberal ideas, but sports stars are expected to keep their mouth shut about their faith in Jesus? It’s the “free-speech as long as it’s what I agree with” principle, and it’s the over-arching principle of American liberalism today. I saw the Heisman ceremony the other night and heard Troy Smith give thanks to God in his acceptance speech. And I saw the camera pan as most everyone nodded in agreement. Maybe not every fan agreed with Reggie or Troy, but it doesn’t matter if they do or not. They earned the right to speak their mind when they earned the right to be behind that podium.
