I yelled at an umpire this past Saturday.
I’m not proud of this. I felt like a fool afterwards. But I did it.
I was watching my nephew’s baseball game in Smithville. His team was only down by one with a runner on second when someone slid into home. After a brief pause for the dust to drift away, the umpire called my nephew’s teammate out at home. It was a poor call, if you ask me, but I may be biased. This was the second out of the inning. As you can imagine, a chorus of parents, families, and coaches for my nephew’s team let the ump know what they saw from their vantage point.
That’s when the umpire decided to call the game because he was tired of dealing with all the yelling. This meant that my nephew’s team lost by one with a runner on second.
Something inside me snapped. I yelled and told the ump that he better bulk up. Looking back, it sounds like I was challenging him to a fight. I wasn’t (not just because I would certainly lose). It was a nonsense statement yelled by me to tell him that he better have thicker skin if he was going to be an umpire. I yelled a couple of other things that I honestly can’t remember because I was angry.
Like I said, I acted the fool and certainly looked like it.
First thing, I want to apologize to you. If someone were to judge the church by my actions, they definitely got the wrong impression of the church and that’s my fault.
Secondly, after some reflection (and even more embarrassment), I kind of felt like Paul in Romans 7.
So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? (Romans 7:21-24, NIV)
Right before this, Paul is talking about how he does what he doesn’t want to do. We’ve likely all experienced something like this. It’s that thing you shouldn’t do and you know isn’t good for you, but you end up doing it anyway. Perhaps you give in to the temptation. Perhaps you react in a certain way that you really don’t want to. Perhaps something inside of you snaps and you yell at an umpire.
Where is the hope? Isn’t this just the way we are?
Sure. In a sense. We are humans. We fail. We mess up. Left to our own devices, it’s a struggle.
But we’re not left to our own devices.
Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 7:25-8:2, NIV)
Jesus, through his death and burial and resurrection, covered our failure and mess ups. He stepped into that gap and gave us a new way to be human: a way without condemnation.
So when you yell at an umpire, you’re not condemned for it. God isn’t waiting for you to attend a baseball game and not yell at the umpire to love you and accept you. He already does, even while you’re yelling.
I like that hope. It makes me want to go to another baseball game and show that same love to the umpire, even if he makes a call that I think is terrible. After all, he is a human loved by God, just like me.
- Sean
Looking Ahead
Book Club Interest
We are considering starting a once-a-month book club for anyone who wants to attend. Each month would feature a Christian living or ministry-minded book. After reading it within that month, we would meet together and talk about certain points and see what we can put into practice from it. If you are interested in this, please let us know by signing up at the Welcome Center.
Life Group Surveys
We are asking every member of our church to fill out a short 5 question survey about Life Groups. Even if you don’t attend one, please fill one out. This information will help us plan for the future of the Life Groups ministry, particularly the types of groups planned and when they meet. Surveys are at the back of the auditorium. If you wish to fill out a digital survey instead, email sean@summitchristian.church and he will get you a link.
Block Party Evaluation Meeting
There will be an evaluation meeting on Tuesday, July 2, at 7:30 pm via Zoom to talk about what went well with the Block Party this year and what we can improve on.
See you Sunday at 9:45 am for Life Groups and 11:00 am for service!