Role Models

I don’t believe professional athletes should be role models.

I believe parents should be role models.

~Charles Barkley

March Madness has produced a massive fever for the city of Richmond.  Both the Spiders of the University of Richmond [UR] and the Rams of Virginia Commonwealth University [VCU] made it into the NCAA basketball tournament.  UR made it all the way to the Sweet Sixteen, when they were defeated by Kansas.  VCU knocked off Southern California, Georgetown, Purdue and Florida State to reach the Round of 8.  There, they knocked off #1 Kansas, and sent them packing.  As I write, VCU is playing their Final Four game against Butler.  Go, VCU!

The city of Richmond has been awash in black and gold – the VCU colors.  Little children to senior citizens are following the team’s every move and cheering on their favorite players.  Children often idolize these young men, and dream of following in their footsteps.  The players become role models whether they want that position or not.  For NBA star Charles Barkley, a great ballplayer and a classic bad boy, being a role model was out of the question.  “Just because I dunk a ball doesn’t mean I should raise your kids.”  He was a firm believer that parents needed to fulfill the job of role model.

Barkley also realized that sports celebrity status often brings those who worship them and the sport.  He has openly labeled some of his fans as worshipers:  “I’ve never believed my critics or my worshipers, and I’ve always been able to leave the game at the arena.”  In various recorded conversations, Barkley has made it clear that although he loves the affirmation and enthusiasm of youthful fans, what matters is who they are, what they are capable of doing, and living a life of respect and honor rather than celebrity worship.  

Train a child in the way he should go,

and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Proverbs 22:6

I'm Outta Here!

There once was a man who had two sons.  The younger said to his father, “Father, I want right now what’s coming to me.”  So the father divided the property between them.  It wasn’t long before the younger son packed his bags and left for a distant country.  There, undisciplined and dissipated, he squandered everything he had…

Luke 15:11-13

This third parable of Jesus strikes a chord across all social lines, in every society on this planet.  Your child – this precious human being that you brought into the world, now wants no part of yours.  Selfish and headstrong, [s]he asks for his/her inheritance while the father is still alive, then takes off – putting as much distance as possible between their ambition and the staid life on the homestead.  Arriving in… New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Paris, London, Christchurch, Lima, Mexico City, or wherever their flight may take them, they grab the brass ring with both hands, spending money like water and living the high life.  Because his money is not limitless, the bottom eventually drops out, and the young man is forced to support himself any way he can.

Most sermons I have heard, or commentaries I have read on this story place their emphasis on the prodigal son.  For me, this story was told, not to highlight Junior, but to draw attention to the love of the Father.  Not one of my three girls has ever run away, but there has been plenty of asking for money, and times of ignoring parental advice to their detriment.  When they get in trouble, does that change my feeling for them?  Never!  I love them straight through the good and the bad.  God calls that kind of love “unconditional” and there is no other love quite like it.

The verbal picture of the Father, coming every day to the front porch to look down the long road, hoping and praying for some sign of his child would be a bit different now—praying and hoping for a phone call, a text message, an e-mail.  The story is the same, however – the longing of a parent to know that their child is safe and secure, the flowing tears and constant prayer.  This story, like no other, paints in vivid colors the picture of the Father’s love for each of us.  He created us, sustains us, loves us unconditionally, and longs for the day when we “come home.”

…this is a wonderful time, and we have to celebrate!

This brother of yours was dead, and he’s alive!

He was lost, and now he’s found.

Luke 15:32 [The Message]

Now Where Did I Put My Keys?

Or imagine a woman who has ten coins and loses one.  Won’t she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny until she finds it?  And when she finds it, you can be sure she’ll call all her [girl]friends and neighbors: 

“Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!

Luke 15:8-9 [The Message]

Money or keys: if it is possible for me to lose it, you can count on me doing exactly that!  My children and co-workers are used to being called into action when I have misplaced my keys. If something is in my hand, I have a tendency to just lay it down.  Anywhere.  Sooner or later, something gets placed on top of it and Voila!  No keys.  Money gets placed somewhere “safe” where no one but me can find it.  Unfortunately, I can’t find it either!

Women in Bible times often sewed the coins of their dowry into a headdress.  That way they always knew where the money was, because it was worn on their person.  However, it would be easy for a stitch to slip, and the coin come lose and fall to the floor. Unfortunately, this was not an everyday mite to purchase groceries or soap. This was a silver coin, a part of the family’s fortune, and no one knew better than she how quickly she needed to find it. 

When I get paid, I take out cash for two weeks of groceries and incidentals.  I put half in my purse, and “hide” the other half securely enclosed in the bank envelope, always in the same location.  Last week, I went to get the money, and it was not there.  I immediately called my girls and asked them to pray that God would help me find it.  When I finally did, my joy was passed on to the girls through text messages and hallelujahs.

Keys and money are necessary components of everyday life.  The loss of either causes instant panic, the finding brings joyful celebration.  The kingdom of heaven does not deal in silver and gold, but in precious human lives.  When one is lost, God is determined to find.

Count on it – that’s the kind of party God’s angels throw

every time one lost soul turns to God.

Luke 15:10 [The Message]