Thursday, February 6, 2014

In Pain for Peyton

Why do I feel so badly for a guy who got $20 million last year to throw a ball? I don’t know him. I won’t ever even talk to him. If I showed up at his house, he might get a restraining order.

The dude comes from privilege, a great family that has loved and supported him. He seems to have a good marriage to a lovely wife with good kids. He even has a functional relationship with his brothers. How weird is that?

And I’m sick for him because he’s lost a game. I want to smack people who call him a choke artist. I want to defend him. I want to write him and say, “Dude, you’re awesome. You’ll get them next year. Oh, and I’m worried about your neck.”

Why do I care so much about the success of a guy I don’t even know? Maybe because for years now, I’ve read stories like this one and this one. They are stories about someone who seems to be a good guy. A guy who poured a lot of time and money into the city of Indianapolis. So much, in fact, a children’s hospital changed its name.

I think there’s more to it though. There is a since of justice placed in all of us. There is something in us that wants to see hard work rewarded, nice people succeed, the good guys win.

I think this is a part of the Devine that lives inside us. The nagging feeling that something is wrong, this isn’t the way it should be, hard work and right living should pay off is hardwired into us. God put this in us, so as we look around the word, we will recognize, something is terribly wrong.

And just to confirm it, he sent Christ to teach us it won’t always be this way. The meek will inherit the earth. Maybe in heaven Peyton will get a few more rings. 

No comments:

Post a Comment