That has always been a very weird term to me…eat crow. What poor guy used the crow he saw in the sky when he made a bet (and lost) to begin that phrase! In my case it’s not a bet, but rather a proclamation that I’ve now realized was wrong.
There have been two circumstances in the past few days that have caused me to question my stance: Duck Dynasty and Josh Hamilton.
I haven’t jumped on Duck Dynasty bandwagon yet for three reasons. 1) Everyone is doing it. I know that’s always a silly reason, which is why I begin with that one. I don’t like watching people post about the show on Twitter/Facebook when I know they have no connection to hunting or ducks or dynasty-style living (whatever that means lol). It seems that there are just a bunch of people talking about it that do it just to be cool and have never watched an episode. 2) It comes on during Psych. I already have a show I watch on Wednesdays at 10/9C which means that I would have to DVR and watch it later and thus affect my devotion to Psych. Even if I watch it later, I still feel like I’m cheating on my very-real Santa Barbara family! 3) I don’t duck hunt. I felt this correlated well with the people I referenced earlier. If I’m going to mock them as city slickers watching something they have no connection with, then how can I go and do the same thing?
Then I had an hour to kill with Nicole watching tv before the March Madness Championship Game this past Monday night and nothing was on…except Duck Dynasty. So we decided to give it a shot (me, personally, so I could validate my stance of disapproval) and IT WAS HILARIOUS! They have this way of allowing you to connect with their family and understand their lives. I think another reason I connected well with them is watching and hearing about how much they love Jesus. It’s the same reason I’m now a Peyton Siva/Louisville fan after checking out his Twitter account during the game Monday night. When someone will boldly announce that they love and follow Jesus, I will back them and support them!
Which leads me to Josh Hamilton…
I am a Texas Rangers fan to the core! I love that team and that organization more than the Cowboys (which some people find hard to believe). I loved how they stood behind Josh each time he had a relapse or episode. I also was frustrated to watch how he left the organization and complained about the fans. If you’re going to publicly claim to be a follower of Christ, then you have to be aware that the target on your back is that much bigger. The bigger the spotlight shines on a Believer; the more Satan will tempt that person to fall. So I was mad at how he (and more so his wife) handled their departure from Texas. It wasn’t filled with the grace and class that he had shown during his first three and a half years. I agree with him that our fans should not have booed him during his at-bats, but I also believe that people who don’t know Jesus will act like people who don’t know Jesus and those times are opportunities to extend to them the grace that Christ has extended to us.
I say all of that to say I was able to go to the Texas Rangers Home Opener last Friday against Josh Hamilton and the LA Angels. And when he came up to bat, I booed. And I don’t boo, but in that moment I chose to join in with the fans in letting him know how I felt about the way he has handled things the past few months.
I went away from that moment dissatisfied. I found myself attempting to separate that moment at a baseball game from who I am as a follower of Christ – a person who has been freely given an indescribable amount of grace (for my initial salvation and for my daily life in Christ since then) by my savior. In a moment when I could have offered grace to my Brother in Christ, I chose not to. And I regret it.
I wish I could tell Josh that I’m sorry. Just as badly on Friday as I wanted to tell him how disappointed I was with how he handled things the past few months, now I would like to tell him I’m sorry for how I HANDLED THINGS on that Friday afternoon. Somehow I have a feeling that even if I could find a way to apologize, he would forgive me a lot quicker than I have forgiven him.
In this daily walk I have with Christ, it’s a good thing to be humbled and have Jesus put things in perspective. Now I need to go drink a cup of coffee and get this nasty crow taste out of my mouth…
The Millers' Ground 