He likes to be called “King James,” playing off the namesake of the King James Bible. When he answers his phone he refers to himself as “The King.” He embraces his nickname as “The Chosen One.” He encourages his fans to “Witness” his greatness. He posed for the photo you see to the left and approved of having three lions photoshopped at his feet. And he flippantly refers to God as “The Greater Man upstairs.” I used to love Lebron James. He came from humble beginnings in a small Ohio town, and though he encouraged little kids of all ages to adore him, I found hope in the way he expressed his love and loyalty to Cleveland and the entire state of Ohio… a city and state that are among the hardest hit during the ongoing recession… a city and state that has long suffered through epic let downs in every pro sport and nearly every other industry. Then when Lebron crumbled against the Boston Celtics last year… in a season where his Cleveland team was expected to win it all, I still tried to empathize with him. God knows he’s one of the greatest athletes who has ever played in the NBA, so when I heard that he was feeling personally betrayed by several of his teammates (including one who had reportedly slept with his mom behind his back), I sort of felt what he was going through and even began to support his hints that he might need to move to a new team. Then came his unprecedented press conference dubbed “The Decision,” where he asked sports fans around the globe to get involved in what has amounted to a reality show about his life… the life of “The King.”
The spectacle was beamed live around the world on ESPN, and no state in the U.S. tuned in at a greater per capita rate than Ohio. Men and women piled into Cleveland area sports bars. Kids put down their X-box controllers and came in from the yard to gather around the TV with fingers crossed and prayers flying high. I heard more than one Ohio native say that Lebron was going to announce he was staying loyal to his Cleveland, Ohio team. “Why else would he hold a live press conference?” they asked. Surely not to break the hearts of his fellow Ohioans. No one could be that heartless. Surely it was his own flamboyant way to energize a state that had many reasons to be depressed, and to revive the hopes Cleveland fans who were still demoralized by his melt down against the Celtics. Restauranteers in downtown Cleveland had already announced they would have to file for bankruptcy if Lebron quit on them, as the Cleveland Cavaliers’ relative success with Lebron was rightly credited for providing the sole reason to pack into downtown Cleveland for sports-loving merriment from November to June for six strong years. School kids across Ohio were holding impromptu rallies and sending letters to Lebron by the truck load, begging him not to abandon them. If Lebron was planning to jilt his Ohio brothers and sisters, he surely wouldn’t do it in a way that got their hopes up. He would have simply let his agent send an email or letter to the media like every other great player before him that ever left a city or state that loved him. When Lebron showed up at the press conference wearing an Opie Griffin plaid shirt and rambled for 30 minutes before making his announcement, it was shaping up like an almost brilliant move to show his wholesome heartland sensibilities… and my Ohio friends tell me they were sure he was going to evoke cheers across Ohio and send the children of that struggling state to bed that night with restored hope in their sports hero. Then came the infamous words… I’m going to “take my talents to South Beach” and join the Miami Heat. I hear stories of Cleveland restaurant owners smashing beer mugs against the wall, and far more about children all across Ohio crying themselves to sleep. Not wanting to become a Lebron hater, I found myself hoping this would drive the children of Ohio out of “The King’s” court, and into the court of the living God. Surely God heard their prayers… right?
My Christian friends who are not sports fans think those of us who follow sports with great enthusiasm are practicing idolatry, and for the most part they’re probably right… for the most part… but not entirely. One need only read the bible to see that God has a vested interest in athletics, and the Apostle Paul often used direct references to competitive sports as metaphors for the crucified life and pursuit of “the prize” of life in the Kingdom of Heaven. In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Paul references track and field, the Olympic Games, and Boxing en route to stating he strives to ensure he is not “disqualified for the prize.” When I’m asked by fellow believers to name one of my weaknesses, I always have to admit I’m probably a bigger sports fan than a man of God should be. As a Bostonian, following our pro sports teams is part of our culture. Some of my earliest memories involve family members crying over the Red Sox and celebrating over the Celtics. I was born in 1963 when the Celtics had already won 4 championships in a row. I was 7 years old before they would finally end their untouchable run of 10 straight crowns. BIll Russell was as big a hero to me as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy. It was a legacy that spurred both me and my brother to becoming year round athletes. Having blue-collar parents who had no choice but to leave my brother and me as latchkey kids throughout the 70′s, I reflect back and realize that God used my time as a little league, high school, and college athlete to cement what little character, morality, team ethic, and leadership skill my mostly Godless folks tried to instill in my brother and me… even though none of this was done for God’s glory. Proof that He does indeed “rain on the evil and the good.” So please forgive me for my zeal for sports, but I believe (along with the Apostle Paul) that God has long used sports to teach us and even to break us. Which brings me back to Lebron.
Upon hearing of Lebron’s tweet attributing the end results of his 2011 season to the “Greater Man upstairs,” most commentators are making statements like “God has bigger concerns than who wins a game.” But my God is engaged in every single atom on earth… not one bird dies without His permission, He knows the very number of hairs on our heads and grains of sand on each beach and every star in the universe. So surely He is interested in sporting events that affect the psyche and emotions and even the character of millions of people around the world… especially when His name is being invoked. As a fan of the New England Patriots, I witnessed him inject himself into Superbowl 42 to ensure the “perfect” 2007 Patriots would not win, as their false-humility, well-documented cheating, and the immoral lifestyle of their superstar quarterback (Tom Brady, who has since married and is proving to be a great dad to his illegitimate son) were not to be rewarded… no matter how badly I wanted it, and no matter how sincerely I prayed He would forgive and restore them just a few months after all their transgressions. For those who don’t know what I’m referencing, this was the game where a previously unknown receiver for the opponent New York Giants named David Tyree made a miracle catch by pinning the football to his helmet while being slammed to the ground by one of the hardest hitters in NFL history (Rodney Harrison). Tyree is a born-again Christian, and he went on record afterward to state he knew without question that God made that catch for him, and knew at that point that God would ensure the Giants would win the game… which of course they did. For the record, Rodney Harrison is also a born-again Christian, and he agreed with Tyree. All things matter to God, and His law of retribution (secularists and Hindus call it “karma”) is still in effect. We reap what we sow.
Most now know the rest of the Lebron James story. After his unconscionable press conference, Lebron instantly became the most hated man in professional sports. He still had his fans, especially Miami Heat fans and a minority of kind-hearts who held out hope and empathy and even admiration for Lebron due to his past history as an under-spoken super-star athlete, but for the most part he had surpassed even Tiger Woods as the most demonized athlete on planet earth… which at first surprised me, as Tiger had been revealed as an adulterer, womanizer, serial liar, and even worse… a man raised by his father to be a Christian but in effort to minimize the moral crimes of his adultery against his wife and family announced in his own infamous press conference that he was choosing to commit to a life as a practicing Buddhist to weather the storm. Tiger Woods was my golf hero. I loved me some Tiger. As a fellow American/Asian half-breed, I identified with him on many levels. I was ready to forgive him for everything he had done… but denying Christ as a defense for his adultery? I was stunned. That was blasphemy to me, and I believe Tiger’s continued woes since that announcement surprise to no one… except maybe his fellow Buddhists. But what had Lebron done so wrong to surpass Tiger in the hate department? As I listen to ESPN commentators on both sides of the debate… those who have been demonizing him and those who have been defending him alike… it all goes back to the “take my talents to South Beach” press conference… which he followed the very next night with the uniform-clad “rock concert” stadium rally (another unprecedented spectacle) where he and his two superstar teammates descended from a man-made tower screaming and posing like super heroes… with smoke machines and fire flares popping as they strutted like super-models down a literal catwalk through a staged crowd of adoring fans reaching up to touch the hem of their garments. All the while the packed stadium screamed in unison as if it was a post-championship celebration. This was the spectacle where Lebron uttered the next quote that he will never ever live down, and will absolutely never accomplish. When asked how many championships this “greatest trio of players” could bring to Miami, Lebron answered by saying “not 2, not 3, not 4 [as the crowd's adoring screams grew louder and louder], not 5, not 6, not 7.” By no coincidence Lebron’s reckless prediction eclipsed the 6 championships Michael Jordan had won during his career, and this was coming from a man who had yet to win a single championship. To a true sportsman, it’s taboo to even predict 1 crown… so it can’t be overlooked that he skipped right over “not 1″ in his infamous quote… which is now appearing to be an prophetic omission. Not 1. Not 1.
Lebron went on to state he will gladly take on the role of villian for the rest of his career, and started to mock Hall of fame players and ESPN commentators and even average fans who criticized him, and also began to mock his opponents whenever the opportunities arose. Throughout the season he beat his chest with every thunderous dunk and game winning shot, and he continued on his path of unprecedented arrogance and narcissism that would embarrass even Narcissus (a fictional character). Then came the high pressured NBA Championship finals this week, and as ESPN’s Tim Legler so poetically stated, Lebron James “looked like someone who was dragged onto a roller coaster but doesn’t like thrill rides.”
As I read the headlines today, the day after his final epic collapse in a series of game ending collapses in this year’s NBA finals loss to the lowly/humble Dallas Mavericks (yes, he choked, collapsed, disappeared, shrunk, insulted his fans, got outplayed by inferior players, and left his teammates hanging just as all the headlines state), I can only pray that the kids who follow this sport and adults who might have continued as Lebron fans see the bigger picture… and how God himself might have injected himself into the sports world to make a statement to those who are watching and listening… just as he did to the Patriots in ’07.
Late last night after his shameful post-series press conference (that included no talk of championships or his “talents”) Lebron tweeted, “The Greater Man upstairs knows when it’s my time. Right now isn’t my time.” Which made me wonder, if Lebron is the self-proclaimed “King,” who exactly is this “Greater Man upstairs” to him? I know Lebron was raised as a Christian, and all Christians know a human “King” is a derogatory term in Jesus’s vernacular, so might Lebron also be converting to Buddhism? Probably not, but his shameful behavior over the past year is certainly proof that he is not a born-again believer, and that we do in fact “reap what we sow.” My Pastor Chris Williamson (who is a Miami Heat fan) put it best in his post to my facebook wall last night, “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before the fall” (Proverbs 16:18). Amen.
At the end of Lebron’s press conference last night, when asked how he felt about all the people who were cheering against him, in his final act of arrogance and superiority he took a sad shot at all his critics who are financially poor compared to him. Lebron simply said,
“…at the end of the day they have to wake up tomorrow and have the same life that they had before they woke up today. They have the same personal problems they had today. I’m going to continue to live the way I want to live and continue to do the things that I want to do…”
To that I say, Thank you Lord, that I will never have to wake up as Lebron James. I’d rather be poor and lowly, humble and meek, than to wake up as one who believes himself to be a king. So today I dust off my feet of Lebron, but as I erase him from my sporting mind I pray that God break Him completely, and give Him another chance to serve Him as one born-again in Christ. What a beautiful testimony he would have. Before I was born again I was probably a far worse sinner than you Lebron, So please know I have no desire to judge you unrighteously, but simply hope to call you unto repentance. If you are a friend of Lebron, I pray you’ll forward this to him. Amen.
[Please note that I did not create the photo above, nor is it a spoof. It is an actual Nike ad].
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