STEROIDS

How many of you believe steroid use should be banned from sports? Good for you... let's keep the sacred, hallowed ground of the ball field free from such contamination. I, on the other hand, do not believe that steroids should be banned. It's not that I condone the use of drugs for the purpose of enhancing athletic performance; I just believe that if we are to be consistent, then we should clear the way for steroid use among athletes. "What!?", you say.

Oh, stop it..... Professionals from every walk of business use synthetic methods to improve their success. Wherever there has been a dollar, or peso, or euro to be made, men and women have been padding their efforts by every means available for centuries. There is no difference between steroids and silicone. There is no difference between a model becoming a blond bombshell, and an average baseball hitter becoming a home run legend. It's all chemicals; administered to enhance the performer and gain better results.

There is furthermore no difference between putting make-up on little girls or botox into older women. It's all fake. We have become so accustomed to fake that we don't even recognize it for what it is. We sell it. We buy it. We play with it. We celebrate it. Let's be honest; there is no distinction between steroids and a two martini lunch. We can't seal the deal on our own merits. Let's use drugs. Let's reach out and get help to overcome our own shortcomings. It's how the game is played. Moreover, it's how the game is won. So why do we get so sanctimonious about steroid use? Let's just admit it: there is no difference between steroids and prayer.

Prayer!!!! Did I just say, "Prayer!!"? Yep. I think I did. I'll say it again, "Prayer." Prayer gives athletes that utilize it, an unfair advantage.

I have a nephew-in-law that is a former Indiana High School State wrestling champion. Larry is a deeply committed Christian. He once told me that he never prayed for God to help him in a wrestling match. He explained that he was so convinced that the Lord would honor his prayer, thus enabling him to win, that it would be a supremely unfair advantage. This of course, to any athlete with an ounce of integrity, would be unacceptable. No, Larry wanted to win on his own merits and skill; the results of hard work, dedication, and training. So, he never prayed for God's help. I have always thought highly of Larry for this.

Perhaps you would suggest that the reason that steroid use is wrong is because it is illegal... Don't be silly. Prayer is banned in the public schools. Prayer is against the rules. There have been very notable cases where students have been disciplined for praying at the lunch table. So, is it wrong for the Christian student to pray for his success in a ball game since it is a violation of the rules of the School? If you would argue that it is O.K. for a student to violate School rules concerning prayer, then how can you argue that it is wrong for a student to use steroids because it is illegal? A violation of the rules is a violation of the rules; yes? Does it really matter whose rules we are breaking?

If you would argue that steroid use is wrong because it is a foreign substance... that it is unnatural, what, I would ask, is more unnatural than to beseech Deity for assistance? Furthermore, men and women use foreign substances daily to change and enhance their performance. Hint: coffee / Red Bull. Oh, I know; we don't consider caffeine to be an unnatural enhancement. Well then, how about adding rosin to the hands of the gymnast? Is that not an alteration of the natural oils and moisture commonly found on the skin. The list could go on and on forever of how athletes are permitted to change the natural to the unnatural.

During the most recent Olympics there was a controversy over the use of Speedo's LZR Racer swimsuit. This $500 swimsuit has been clearly proven to give a slight advantage to those who wear it. Should the unfair advantage gained by wearing a particular swimsuit lead to a decision that all swimmers swim in identical swimsuits? NASCAR racing offers the IROC race, in which all the vehicles are identical; so as to remove any unfair mechanical advantage.

Oh, I know... steroids are injected. That's why they are bad. I would ask, what is the difference from the model that gets botox injections and the Major League baseball player? The model gets paid to not have wrinkles. The batter gets paid to hit home runs. Both choose to inject something into their bodies that will help them achieve their goal: more money.

You might argue that steroid use is wrong because it is dangerous and can do permanent harm to the body. Please.... you can do better than that. So is driving in a NASCAR race, but that doesn't stop millions of people from paying millions of dollars to watch men and women do very dangerous things that may very well lead to permanent injury or even death. Lots of things are dangerous. We gladly and willing pay to watch myriad performers cheat death. How then can we defend our opposition to steroid use because it's unsafe?

Have you ever watched the TV show, Deadliest Catch? If we really cared about safety, we would boycott the crab industry. We don't care about those who catch our crab or our baseballs. It really doesn't matter. Go ahead and enjoy your king crab dinner, provided at the life and death risk of the fishermen, while you enjoy the ball game, played by athletes who risk life and death to play the game.

In any game, logic and the sensibilities of fair play demand that each participant compete without an advantage that is not equally available to each player. Sure... now we're to it, aren't we? That's why it's O.K. to pray; prayer is equally available to all. Right? As I have previously pointed out, it may not be that simple. We must consider the person whose moral character would guide them not to pray because praying would be a breach of the governing policies of the sanctioning body. If you go ahead and pray, in defiance of the School rules, then you now have illegally improved your chances of winning. Yes? Prayer might not be morally available to each participant.

What if both team captains are Christians, and they both pray? Only one can win and I have never seen any athlete lift their hands and eyes heavenward after a loss and give public praise to God for their defeat. Never.... Not one time. Oh, it may have happened sometime, somewhere... However, I have never witnessed it. A game is a zero sum event. For every winner, there is a loser. Business is the same. For every dollar gained, one dollar is lost. So, if God is responsible for the win, is he likewise culpable for the loss?

Surely, by now you have recognized the unpleasant logic of my argument. I would like to return to the notion that God really would answer game day prayers of athletes and spectators alike. For all who thought this was about the subject of steroids (I know. That is the title of this post.), or unfair advantages, or any of the many other issues mentioned above, it is not. I couldn't care a whit if adult athletes blow their blood vessels to smithereens with steroids. They can do whatever they want. Caring is a complete waste of time; my caring won't change a thing. Obviously, our lives and the games we play are all ruled by a bunch of contradictory, confusing, conflicting and hypocritical rules created, applied and enforced by fallible men. So, why do we expect and demand that athletes follow certain rules of behavior, when we ourselves break both the letter and the spirit of the rules?

This is about prayer... and, whether or not God would respond to the "sports" prayer. You see, I must apologize; for, I misled you from the beginning to believe that God would in fact respond to the "sports" prayer. I wrote as though praying for success in a game would automatically bring about blessing from above. I gave no room for the notion that God doesn't care about your silly game, and isn't going to waste heavenly time on such an earthly event. And therein lies the point.

How could you possibly expect me to believe that God is fixing games while the lives of faithful men, women, and children continue to be filled with pain, disease and suffering? If I for one moment believed that God cared about the outcome of a ball game, then I would have to conclude that God cared about the pleasures of this world. If He cares about the pleasures of this world, then He must also care about the displeasures of this world. So if given a choice between the Super Bowl and the patients of a Children's Hospital, God chooses to fix the game instead of fixing sick kids... I cannot allow myself to reach that conclusion... It is unthinkable.

The only acceptable conclusion is that God cares nothing for the affairs of this world and is completely and exclusively focused upon the world yet to come. While vast numbers of Christians around the world are starving and dying, we pray for success in games and in business. As many of our brothers and sisters in the Lord suffer and live in the depths of poverty the likes of which we have no comprehension, you expect me to believe that is is appropriate to shout, "Thank you, Jesus", while we lift our game trophies to the sky. If it is illegal for players, coaches, and referees to fix games, how can you possibly expect me to believe that it is appropriate for God to do so?

The simple fact is: He doesn't! God does not care about our frivolous games. I dare say, I'm not even sure He cares about our careers. He cares about souls. The Father did not send a coach. He did not send an employer. He did not send an entrepreneur. He sent a Savior. The Bible does NOT say that God sent his only son that whosoever believes would win the ball game.,. rather, that they would have eternal life. Any prayer that would try to implicate God in the games of this life is misdirected. Every prayer that seeks to bring glory to God in the next is right on target.

Jesus came to fix broken lives. He came to fix sin. If you had the opportunity to meet the President of the United States, would you disrespect the office of the President so much as to ask the President to help you win a ball game? Recently, I saw a picture on Yahoo of a woman changing her baby's diaper on a bench in a public hallway of the White House. Included in the picture was a uniformed White House usher, who was seen to be explaining that there might be a more appropriate place to do such a task. Nothing could better illustrate how our culture has become so completely insensitive to the dignity and honor that should be afforded to certain times, places, and persons.

At the heart of this matter is nothing less that our individual perception of the character and personage of God. What we think of God will determine what we think of prayer. If God is our buddy that we wouldn't mind hangin' out with and knocking back of few longnecks with, then that perception will dictate our demeanor in prayer. If, on the other hand, God is high, exalted, honorable, and to be revered... If He is majestic, magnificent and holy... If we see God as Isaiah saw him, we then fall on our faces before him in prayer.

The pendulum has swung. I grew up watching a generation of Christians that so very much revered God, that they approached Him mostly in silent solemnity. God was almost untouchable, and if we dared to do so, we made ourselves ready both inwardly and outwardly. Approaching God was a risk, and the one who would attempt to do so should have a darn good reason. Former generations were so dependent upon God's blessing, they could scarcely afford to offend Him. Never would they have courted God with capricious frivolity.

Today, I worship alongside a generation that awards and promotes gaudy, noisy camaraderie with God. God is our best pal. He is our chum. We can include him in our horseplay and our nonsense. We even invite him to set in the bleachers and do the "shazam" thing if our team needs a helping hand. Having a good quarterback is a good thing; having a Christian quarterback is better - all the more so for the prayers prayed and blessing bestowed. Can't you just hear the prayers? "God bless our son, the quarterback. There may be a college scout in the bleachers today, and we could really use a full-ride scholarship to a great University." Now that I think about it, our Divine friend can watch over the weather and make sure that we have sunshine and blue skies as well.

Perhaps the answer lies somewhere in the middle. We have friends in high places. He has called us his friends, but He remains on the throne. Jesus is both our brother and our King. Indeed, we have access that we may boldly and freely come before Him, but we should not forget Uzzah. The question might be: If we are going to ere, do we want to ere on the side of reverence or camaraderie?