Lebron

  I will freely admit that I watched almost every game of the NBA Finals, the first time I've done that since the Phoenix Suns lost to the Bulls in 92/92.  I still have memories of Kevin Johnson and Charles Barkley coming oh-so-close, and of John Paxson sinking the dagger 3 in game 6.  The reason I watched all six games this year?

  Partly because they were great games, but more because I was fascinated by watching the Miami Heat falter.  I wanted them to lose.  I wanted them to fail in big and glorious ways on the national stage, to receive payback for their hubris, for the assumption that they would win.  I wanted to watch their arrogance fall.

  And fall it did.  I found myself enjoying Dirk Nowitzki, a player I never rooted for until this year.  I found glory in Jason Kidd sinking threes, a player I gave up on after revelations about his less than perfect marriage came out.

  What did I gain from all this?  Did it make me feel better watching another fail?  I'm not exactly going to be purchasing the Sports Illustrated commemorative package for the Dallas championship.  In two years, I probably won't remember that Dallas won--only that Miami lost.  I lived in Cleveland for three years, but I've never been to a Cavs game, and I don't make a point to follow them on television.  I didn't watch The Decision.

  I suppose, at the heart of it, I like seeing the proud, the arrogant, fall.  I like seeing them humbled.  I will confess that I don't often pray for them, though I should.  I will confess that I don't pray that they learn their lesson and return a stronger individual, like Christ would have me do.  I'm probably too proud to do that, ironically enough.  I simply enjoy their fall.

  In this week's text, Christ is urging the disciples to be humble.  He's calling for us to remember our own sins and live ready to forgive, ready to repair bonds that might be broken.  He's calling for me to remember that I am a sinner, and that though my faults may be different, they are no better or worse than anyone else's.  So often I stand ready to condemn, when I ought to be ready to forgive, to discuss, to love.  I pray for a heart ready to serve, that I might strengthen my relationships with others, so that when they fall, I might be ready to support and love them, that they may grow in faith and character.

  So I should pray for Lebron, and all others that fall, that they might learn and grow.  What a witness that might be.