Outside the Lines

Our realization of our identity in Christ - who we really are as new creations in Him - will ultimately determine the way we think, the development of our beliefs, and the expression of those beliefs in
word and deed. Remember the words of Colossians 2:
9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;
10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

Complete in Him - we are totally sufficient in Christ!  He has given us a new nature and committed to us powerful resources through which we can live a victorious life, a life that reflects His presence. The Bible contains important insight about the realities of that new nature, and the Holy Spirit lives in our hearts so that we can carry out His purposes for us.  Our Christian identity is not to be separated from other areas of our lives; rather, it should inform every area.

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As we grow in the Lord, we recognize that He desires to shape our viewpoints; I would even submit that who we are, if we truly grasp hold of it, will determine how we think. So, if you are a Christian, you are called to think, speak, and act according to the Scriptures.  A picture of someone who attempts to separate identity from action is found in James 1:
23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror;
24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

The fallout is continuing from the mass number of people let go recently by ESPN.  The number generally reported is somewhere around 100 who were fired from the network.  And, while dollars and cents could be considered to be a reason, the economic factors may have been influenced by what has been perceived as an increasing politicization of the network's content.

And, of course, a feeding frenzy has occurred concerning other sports media. Sports Illustrated published a report including comments from longtime ESPN anchor Linda Cohn.  It read:

Longtime ESPN anchor Linda Cohn believes the network’s embrace of political issues is at least partially to blame for falling subscription rates.

“That is definitely a percentage of it,” Cohn said, when asked Thursday on New York radio show “Bernie and Sid” if viewers were tuning out because of politics, according to the New York Post. “I don’t know how big a percentage, but if anyone wants to ignore that fact, they’re blind.”

The story added that "ESPN has lost 10 million subscribers over the past five years as 'cord-cutting' allows viewers to cancel their cable subscriptions in favor of online streaming services. It notes the rise of programming costs, as well."

And, the expression of Christian viewpoints on the network has seemingly been unwelcome. Terry Mattingly at Get Religion cites an instance in there was coverage of North Carolina State players doing missions work in Kenya - he referred to a piece by writer Bobby Ross, Jr. at the website charging that ESPN went out of its way to downplay the religious nature of the trip.

Mattingly referred to a revision of the network's political and social guidelines.  He asks:

For those interested in religion, it's clear that the key words in all of that are these – "social issues." What kinds of social issues are we talking about? I would assume that we are primarily talking about issues of race and gender.

And, in the article, written about a month ago, before the firing, he states: "Gender would link directly to social issues linked to the Sexual Revolution and that leads you straight to stories that might require dealing with the beliefs of traditional Jews, Christians, Muslims and others. Maybe it is safer to say that religion – as opposed to politics and social issues – is too hot to touch?"

Mattingly also notes that the site has received emails "claiming that ESPN has an actual policy forbidding discussions of religion on the air – but have never been given direct evidence of this. There has also been talk (think Christmas wars) about ESPN banning adds that mention Jesus, etc."

He noted the decline in ESPN ratings, saying that there was the "cutting of the cable for younger viewers," but some "have linked to the sports giant airing more and more commentaries backing progressive cultural and political causes, some of which have implications for traditional religious believers."

Just a few examples that would reinforce this contention about limitations placed on faith expressions: 

Bryan Chai at The Wildcard, referring to a Sports Illustrated piece about Tim Tebow, noted a meeting with the lady who hired him. “Among the items she wanted to discuss: religion. She remembers stumbling her way through their conversation. Look, I respect your faith, Tim, but, you know, it’s not everybody’s cup of tea. This is not the place for you to be, you know, preaching to folks or sharing your religious beliefs. This is about football."

Chai didn't mince words. He had said about the supposed muzzling of Tebow:

Yes, the same ESPN that once asked why professional baseball wasn’t being more political and divisive to help combat against political divisiveness. The same ESPN that allows some of its most toxic personalities carte blanche when it comes to racially charged topics. The same ESPN that tried to masquerade a vicious character assassination of Tebow as boilerplate “journalism.”

Isn't it interesting that Sage Steele, a mixed-race anchor who spoke at Benjamin Watson's faith-based forum on race earlier this year and shared about racism she had suffered, was replaced as the host of NBA Countdown?

You remember Chris Broussard - while the sports world was celebrating NBA player Jason Collins' admission that he was gay, Broussard said this, according to Variety:

If you’re openly living in unrepentant sin, whatever it may be, not just homosexuality, (but) adultery, fornication, premarital sex between heterosexuals … I believe that’s walking in open rebellion to God and to Jesus Christ,” Broussard said. “I would not characterize that person as a Christian, because I don’t think the Bible would characterize them as a Christian.”

The network, the same one who recognized former Olympian Bruce Jenner's so-called "transition" to being a woman for his "courage," responded to Broussard: “We regret that a respectful discussion of personal viewpoints became a distraction from today’s news. ESPN is fully committed to diversity and welcomes Jason Collins’ announcement.”

There you have it.  So, why can't a "respectful discussion" include a variety of viewpoints, including the faith perspective?  That's not the template for these times.  Those who hold to a worldview that is contrary to the Christian viewpoint have a progression they follow: state their perspective, try to force the other person or people to accept their perspective, demonize them if they disagree, ultimately try to silence them, and then to punish the opposition.  Think about it.  It's not a new strategy, but it's unfortunate for people today who are just trying to live their lives according to their faith.

It's refreshing to read a survey, such as the one I shared yesterday, where an overwhelming number of young people declared their support for religious freedom and free speech.  Perhaps the ugly pictures from Berkeley and other college campuses or the public shunning of people who want to share their faith perspective will spur people to a new level of respect.  And, maybe just maybe, the really vocal intolerant types are really a small percentage of the population today. Maybe, we really do want to be a "United" States of America, where our Christian perspective is allowed to be expressed.  But, if not, we can continue to speak, knowing that our Lord said we would face opposition.

Finally, remember, who we are on the inside determine how we express ourselves externally; if we claim to be a Christian, our identity is in Christ, and we can strive to make sure that the person we are within is seen by others.  Ultimately, we cannot be separated from our identity; God doesn't desire that we suppress it; rather, to allow His nature to flow through us.