Thursday; January 9

          If you were a baseball fan in the latter part of the 20th Century you knew Pete Rose.  (Now, whether you liked Pete Rose was a whole different story!)  Pete Rose played the game well and played it as hard as anyone of his day.  Now, those of us who watched “Charlie Hustle” play recall him for what he did on the field, but many others remember him for something else – being permanently banned from baseball because he bet on games.  Through the years there has been a lot of discussion as to whether the lifetime ban was warranted, but Pete may have been as much of a victim of circumstances as he was of his own actions.  You see, Rose was banned by Major League Baseball Commissioner Bart Giamatti on August 24, 1989; however, Giamatti died on September 1, 1989.  While it is merely my personal opinion, I believed Giamatti’s untimely death sealed Rose’s fate.  Had the Commissioner lived, they might have come to an agreement to reinstate Rose, but his legacy was sealed by the sudden unexpected death of the man who disciplined him.
          The reason I bring this up is not to debate Pete Rose’s place in professional baseball, but to remind us of the brevity of life.  We cannot depend on “tomorrow” to give us a chance to make peace or make amends in life.  The New Testament reminds us, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’ Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” (James 4:13-14).  Is there something we need to address?  The only certainty we have is today, so we had better get our accounts settled now!
          Think About It!

Popular posts from this blog

Tuesday; November 29

The biblical story of the Good Samaritan has changed our world. Notice I didn’t say that it had change religion or even Christianity, it has influenced the world. There are very few people who don’t know the moral of Jesus’ parable about the Good Samaritan. In fact, the phrase has become a common description of everyday people doing good to their neighbors. While Jesus’ parable from Luke 10 shares several spiritual lessons, one of the most practical is that good can be done by anyone. You don’t have to be a church official to do good, it is not only possible for each one of us to help, it is required of all of us. If a Samaritan can be good, so can we! After presenting the parable, Jesus asked the man who had originally asked the question about being a good neighbor which character in the story was a good neighbor, “… he said, ‘The one who showed mercy toward him.’” at which point, the discussion from theoretical to personal, “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do the same.’” (Luke
Read more

Thursday; January 12

The other day I was watching a television show that used a rather common term applied to overcoming challenges. When organizations experience unexpected setbacks – especially when they lose key people – they rely upon the concept of “Next Man Up”. In essence, when our starters (or stars) go down, effective organizations rely upon their next levels to step into the vacancy. While this is an effective response, have we given much thought as to how we prepare to be the “next people up”? First, we must know our job. Even when we aren’t the primary players, we need to be preparing ourselves to be ready when we get the opportunity to shine. Second, we must do our best when we get the chance. Knowledge is important but what turns potential into talent is effort. Yet, maybe the most underappreciated aspect of this concept is a willingness avoid excuse-making and whining about the unfairness of our situation. When we complain about the circumstances that caused the need for replacements
Read more

Monday; September 25

When I was a youngster, I remember hearing about this thing called the Generation Gap. I was a little bit too young to be active in the social movements of the 1960s, but I do remember listening to the challenges the generations were experiencing way back then. Interestingly, now that I have been on both sides of the aging process, I have to admit that the Gap of the 1960s was nothing new. With the development of each generation comes conflict. The young people don’t feel like the older people understand them and the older folks tend to believe their input is being underappreciated. Too often trust is the casualty when two generations collide. The sad thing is that it doesn’t have to be this way. When we can capture the innovation and energy of the younger folks and harness the wisdom of those who have been around for a while we can develop a winning combination. No, we won’t always see things eye-to-eye nor will we necessarily speak the same emotional language, but when we app
Read more