Life in the Fishbowl

Romans 13 states:  12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

Tomorrow morning in Indianapolis, the Bart Starr Award will be presented by Athletes in Action, voted on by NFL players, recognizing one of their own for outstanding character and leadership in the home, on the field, and in the community.   This year, Washington Redskins linebacker London Fletcher will be the recipient.

Other finalists were Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha and Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten.

Fletcher started the London's Bridge Foundation in 2003 to help underprivileged children in his hometown of Cleveland and other cities, including Washington. He is also involved in other charitable projects.

On the Campus Crusade website, you can read London's testimony.   Having accepted Christ in 2004, he says:

I was tired of living the life that I was living. I knew I couldn’t do this on my own. I felt a fulfillment inside that I had been searching for.

I was very nervous of how my new faith would actually affect me on the football field. I had always played the game with a hate. I felt I had to go out and play with this anger to be successful.

As a Christian, I am thinking, I can’t really play with hate, anger and rage and still be successful. I’m the middle linebacker of the Buffalo Bills and I am known for [being] rough, tumble and physical. How am I going to do this and serve Christ in a manner that is pleasing to Him?

It’s amazing -- not only did my life improve, but also my game improved. Training camp is the toughest part for a football player. But I never got tired and I was staying up until 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. reading the Bible. I was gaining more knowledge and growing in my relationship with Christ.

I spent years chasing things I thought would bring me everlasting joy and happiness: chasing Super Bowl rings [I was fortunate to be a part of a Super Bowl with St. Louis in my 2nd year] or a multi-million dollar contract; or a new house, cars and jewelry.

None of those things did for me what Christ did in an instant.

I grew up in a home where my grandmother had us in church. It was more of a routine to go.

I would hear people talk about how Christ changes you, but I was skeptical. Then I felt that on the inside, it was a tremendous thing. I was living in the darkness for so long.

When I accepted Christ, my eyes were open; I wanted to shout and tell the world. I called and told my best friend -- all the friends that I knew -- that I had received Christ. I wanted them to really experience the joy that I felt.

London's testimony and the presentation of the Bart Starr Award can serve to remind us of the enormous pressure that athletes are under.   We can pray that he and other Christians stay strong.   With the overactive media and the blogosphere these days, there are people who would be overzealous to find certain athletes in compromising positions.   I'm sure someone would love to find something on somebody like Tim Tebow.

Or take, for instance, Josh Hamilton, who's scheduled to speak in Houston at a men's event tonight.   His name was trending on Twitter and Google because of a non-specific "relapse" involving alcohol.  You see, Josh was heavily addicted to drugs and alcohol - he's turned his life over to Christ, had a high-profile relapse a couple of years ago, and this past week, had 3 or 4 drinks in a local bar due to a family situation.  If you or someone you know has been addicted to substance abuse, you realize the difficulty in staying clean and realize how potentially devastating this series of events is.   In a press conference earlier today, Josh said:

I needed to be in a different place. I need to be responsible, period. And I was not responsible. Those actions of mine hurt a lot of people who are very close to me.


"As far as baseball and the Rangers, they've shown nothing but support to me and tell me they'll continue to support me. ... I can not take a break from my recovery, my recovery is Christ, my recovery is an everyday process. When I take that one day off it leaves me open for a moment of weakness, it's always been that way.

"For everybody I have hurt ... fans, kids, people who have addictions who look up to me, I apologize to you. When you're doing this you don't mean to hurt anybody. As I know, it hurts a lot of people. I have a lot to look at as far as things going on, inside, they aren't bad things, not things that are worrisome as far as me running back out going to drink. It's about getting to the point where I understand, I can't take a break. Again, how hard I play on the field is how hard I need to take a relationship with my Lord.

Amazing how many Christians were tweeting out calls for prayer and support for Josh Hamilton today - this doesn't signify that he has had a dramatic departure from his walk - he sinned, he has repented, and God has forgiven him; hopefully, he has learned.   And, I'm glad the cameras aren't on and the bloggers aren't blogging when I have my sinful moments - we all need the Lord, and while He watches, and while others watch us to see if we're truly who we claim to be, it's only by His grace and strength that we can walk the walk.   So, you go, Josh Hamilton - people are praying for you!