Thursday, January 17, 2013

why settle for a place in the hall when you can have a whole mansion?










You guys tend to smarter than the average bear, you're reading this, so maybe you can help me with this one. Please explain to me, so I can explain it to the younger kids, the difference between right and wrong? Not so easy, is it. Take sports for instance, when Roger Maris broke the Babe's home run record in 1961, he was vilified for it. He had extra games, played at night, etc. And for 40 some years it, his record was unbroken. Then Mark McGuire and then Barry Bonds both it more, in the same amount of games in the season. But we find the Babe is in the Hall of Fame, but not Roger. And when the votes were cast for this years Hall, not one person was chosen. Not Bonds, McGuire, or Sosa, all big hitters, nor Roger Clemens, Cy Young Award winner multiple times. Their records were real, but their reputations tarnished. They used steroids, and although not admitting it, look at their before and after pictures. And their actions in the court and before the press, and just like OJ was found innocent when guilty, so are they, and the public sentence can be far harsher than any court or Hall can administer. We watch as Lance Armstrong finally admits to being a steroid junkie. Remember Lyle Alzado-he died from them. We watch Joe Paterno and the Penn State football legacy go up in flames because of Sandusky and his perversion-but he's the coach, we can't rat him out. Maybe life in jail isn't good enough for him as a punishment. And the NFL after going on a witch hunt with negligible proof of head hunting, accusing the Saints and others of placing a bounty on hurting opposing players, then backing off after the damage is done, dropping all charges, no wonder no players have respect for Roger Goodell and the NFL. We sit back and honor Junior Seau, who commits suicide from too many hits in the head, we watch as Ali shakes as he walks and tries to talk-not quite the same shuck and jive he used to become the greatest. But perhaps the greatest joke, travesty, or irony is Pete Rose. Betting is OK in sports, just not on your own team. And baseball's best hitter will never be in the Hall, maybe a social comment on both of them. And when channel surfing last week, watched part of his reality show, Hits and Mrs., where he is going to marry this Eurasian women with two kids, and the young boy has never heard of Pete Rose. And Pete fails trying to help him, at baseball, as the kids ridicule him. We turned it off when the bride to be complained about her breast enhancements-to much reality for me. Is this what reality has become? Now, can you explain right and wrong to me? Help!
After Peter, James, and John were on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus, He told them not to tell anyone. Not to brag, and they didn't. Yet when He confronts them later, and asks what they were talking about, they say nothing. Because they were talking among themselves about who was the greatest! They were there that day, the three of them. Now God wishes us to use all of the talents He has given us for greatness, or He wouldn't have given them to us. But for whose glory? And at what cost? His answer may surprise you, simply put, "the first shall be last, and the last first. And you must be servant to all." I'll bet that upset them, "but we were there!" Statistics are nice, book sales, BMW's, trendy clothes, and yes, motorcycles too, but all pale when compared to God. All those things will pass away-hard to think of money or cars as wood, hay, or stubble. Although some bikes I have ridden may qualify. Just how important is yards gained per carry now?
When our natural instinct is to pump us up, place us first to be successful, Jesus turns the whole thing around. Placing God first, gaining glory for Him and not yourself wins the race. The race that God has set before us called life. For the true measure of greatness is found in how we serve God. Not what we think we should do for Him, but in obedience, found through love. Keeping the commandment Jesus left with us, "love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind. And your neighbor as yourself." No drugs needed for that.
So what is your ambition? Who does it shed light on? And what does it leave in its wake? Ask Mark McGuire if it was all worth it. Ask OJ. We can't ask Junior, but his words from the grave speak volumes, if we care to listen. Jesus also asks "what does a man profit if he gains the world, but loses his soul?" We may not all be Hall of Fame material, few are. But we all have the choice to have our names written in the Book of Life. Sadly some struggle and fail to get into the Hall, when Jesus promises them a whole mansion. Now, how would you explain the difference between right and wrong? Maybe it is as simple, God forgives, the world doesn't. A clear example of why I rather have my name be recorded, than a record setter. Records are meant to be broken. Some are still waiting to get into the Hall, I have the keys to my own mansion. And your answer is....
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com