Skip to main content

Dear Indiana

Dear Indiana, 

I know I've lived here for most of my adult life, so this may seem a bit late in coming. I understand that living in Indiana means loving, or at least tolerating, basketball. Don't get me wrong. I've watched Hoosiers. It's good. 

I do love basketball. I enjoy playing it, watching it and even talking about it. I don't root for your teams, but I get the love for this sport. 

But there's a few things we need to clear up. You see, my middle school son started playing for one of your teams this year. Needless to say, the experience has only confirmed what I already suspected. 

The place in your heart that this sport holds, at least borders on idolatry. I should also mention that I am a youth pastor. So I have watched time and time again as basketball crowds out the space for anything else. I know what lessons can be learned when our sons and our daughters learn to sacrifice and work as part of a team. But I also know the lessons that are taught when sports are not properly seen as a part of the whole, instead of being the whole.  

Coaches, remember it's a game. I know that on the college and pro level, there is money and jobs on the line. But when we treat the lower levels like this, we do our children a disservice. Instead of teaching all the kids the thrill of success and the disappointment of failure, we teach the better athletes to be revered and the rest to enjoy the show from the bench. 

In a  society where only 1% ever play professionally, why wouldn't we give all our children an opportunity? Why would we discourage so many to the point that they find something else to do when they tire of being left out?

Parents, remember it's a game. Every game I have attended, from elementary on, has been a practice in patience. The good news is I now know how to take deep breaths before I say anything in a crowd. But when the thought of yelling out, "It's only a game" gives me the fear of being lynched, then something is very wrong.

If the size of the trophy is determined by the intensity with which parents criticize referees, then this is a trophy I really want to see. 

Parents, we need to be the ones who instill good values in our children. If we don't, we'll just continue this cycle. We also need to help our sons and daughters realize the need for balance in life. When we show more intensity in a game than we do anything else in our life, this lesson gets lost.

Lastly, to our sons and daughters, let me remind you of a few details. You are more than an athlete. Much more. I've never woken up my children by referring to them as a sports star. For that matter, I don't start their day calling them artists, students or anything else. I remind them they are my son or daughter and that I love them very much. I remind them that God has a plan for their life. 

Remember your identity. Your real identity. Work hard. Play hard. Love others and build lots of relationships.  There is a great big world out there and it doesn't end when the whistle blows. 

So, Indiana, I guess if there's anything I want you to hear, it's this; I want you to know your place. The futures of our sons and daughters will be shaped by the lessons we teach them today. 




Comments

Unknown said…
I don't know how to post a thumbs up symbol, so just pretend there is one here. :) or actually more than one! I think I would post a whole row of them.

Popular posts from this blog

Accountable

I recently officiated a wedding. The ceremony was simple, lovely, and ended with another couple professing to keep the covenant of marriage. But it all started with a clarification...from me. At our first premarital counseling session, as I have done with every couple I have agreed to marry, I clarified a couple of matters. First, I officiate Christian weddings, where both spouses-to-be are professing Christians. I firmly believe that marriage is difficult enough, without adding disagreements about God into the mix. Second, as a minister of Jesus Christ, I believe the pastor’s role in a wedding is to represent the blessing of God on that union. So we have several sessions of premarital counseling where we discuss married life. It’s not that I have this imaginary card in my head, with a picture of me on the front and my stats on the back. (You know, like a baseball card.) Ok, I do picture cards. Pastor cards! And being a competitive guy, I want my stats to look good. The number of coupl

Patience

I am more than halfway through the last year of dropping one of my children off at school. It's my eighth grade daughter, for anyone keeping track of my family.  See, next year she will be at the high school, and her brother will drive her. He says that it's not cool for seniors to drive their freshman sister to school, but I bet it's cooler than being dropped off by your mom in a minivan.  So rather than groan about this daily responsibility, I've been reminiscing about what the drop-off line used to look like, way back in elementary school. Once our children were about halfway through their elementary years, the drop-off line became a test of patience.  Do you know which group you do not want to get caught behind in the parent drop-off line at an elementary school? The kindergartners. These little ones are barely able to walk, but now we put them in the high-pressure situation of trying to unbuckle their seat-belt, grab their backpack (which might be as tall as they a

Jury Duty

I was recently summoned to jury duty. I know, groan. Except I didn't. I had never experienced it before and was curious to see what it was like.   When the day to report arrives, they separate you into groups, asking various questions to decide if you will be selected to serve. Do you know the accused? Do you have conflicts that would keep you from serving? Can you stay focused?  I wanted to answer well, if only because my kids kept wishing me luck the day before, telling me they hoped I made the team. After all, who wants to be rejected? It occurred to me that there are things you probably shouldn’t say right away if you’re wanting to serve on a jury. I know, I know, people don’t typically want to serve on a jury. But that list didn’t seem nearly as humorous to me. Here are the things you probably shouldn’t say if you want to be selected for jury. I hold myself in contempt. You can’t handle the truth. We find the defendant guilty. I believe the judge looks pretty in his robe. I’d