Earlier in the summer I posted a poll question on this blog
that asked the question,
Glory Road - "What you Smokin?"
An interesting dialogue between Bobby Ray the talented but realistic player and the idealistic coach who didn't know how hard the road would be. Watch as he doesn't let Bobby Ray walk away from an opportunity. Honest and sincere.
42 - "Maybe Tomorrow We'll All Wear # 42"
“In what aspect of reconciliation are you most interested?”
There were four answers from which to choose and you could
choose more than one. The four choices are listed below with the % of those
voting who selected each choice.
·
Between people & God (100%)
·
Between husband & wife (40%)
·
Between different races & ethnicities (80%)
·
Between rich/powerful & poor/marginalized (40%)
With the amount of visitors to the blog, I was surprised
that only five (5) people took the time to check one or more of the answers and
one of them was me! What is the risk? Was the question really not that
important to most readers or did they just not see it there in the right hand
column? Perhaps it didn’t show up well when viewing this blog from a mobile
device. Or maybe everyone is still in election overload from last fall. I don’t
really know. Help me out here! I would love to get a conversation started on
this topic. The poll has since closed and has been moved to the bottom of the
right-hand margin of this blog; however, I have reopened it as they say in
Beijing’s Silk Street Market “Just for
you today my special friend”, in case some of you totally missed it and
want your voice to be heard.
While I have you in a thoughtful frame of mind, please take
a second to answer then new Cultural Intelligence poll question at the right
margin regarding major league sports and their treatment of different
ethnicities and cultures. It seems like so many of the great sports movies deal
with this issue (Remember the Titans [football]; Glory Road [basketball]; The
Jackie Robinson Story, and 42 [baseball]; Miracle [hockey]) but how do they
stack up against each other and why?
Sports are often a reflection of how we relate to others whether we like it or not. So how are we doing? Have we learned anything from movies like these? Here are a three memorable scenes among many. Sometimes we can say yes to something we watch or read but it doesn't really change the way we live and look at others. The Bible says,
Sports are often a reflection of how we relate to others whether we like it or not. So how are we doing? Have we learned anything from movies like these? Here are a three memorable scenes among many. Sometimes we can say yes to something we watch or read but it doesn't really change the way we live and look at others. The Bible says,
“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be
quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not
produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant
wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save
your souls.
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving
yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a
man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself
and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into
the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets
but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” (James 1:19-25 --ESV)
It would seem to me that there are times when God’s truth is
powerfully communicated through moments like these that help us to remember
what we look like in the mirror and spur us to be doers of the word.
Remember the Titans: Attitude Reflects Leadership
Watch Julius' eyes when Gary says, "I think you're nothing..." and then watch Gary's eyes when Julius makes his point towards the end of the clip. Do you see the lights of mutuality coming on?
Back story is this was a bold and decisive gesture by the veteran star Pee-Wee Reese after he learned what it was costing Jackie to play. He stands up to the dominant culture of his hometown and send his family and fans a message. Jackie gave him the courage and the opportunity to do that. Note the change in the tone of the crowd from the beginning of the clip to the end.
Feel free to place your vote in these two polls and to add a comment below as well. Perhaps suggesting your favorite culturally intelligent sports movies for a future poll? We all have something to learn from one another...
Feel free to place your vote in these two polls and to add a comment below as well. Perhaps suggesting your favorite culturally intelligent sports movies for a future poll? We all have something to learn from one another...
Emily comments via Facebook: Do you think people don't think reconciliation is important or maybe they don't understand what reconciliation is? It is not a word commonly used in our culture and outside of the church (and maybe the UN or other political arenas...of which I am regrettably uninformed about), reconciliation doesn't seem to be a concept that is discussed too much. Maybe it is because it is hard and foreign to us to reconcile with one another, most especially without the context of Christ in our lives...I just started going through your posts on this newish blog of yours and look forward to reading more!
ReplyDeleteCarrie commented vis Facebook: Reconciliation is not a high priority in a throw away culture. We have definitely lost something important here. I do have a hard time even cultivating a feeling of need for reconciliation among our three girls, even more so between them and their friends. When that "give it up, it ain't worth it" feeling is stronger than the ties that connect us to a person, we continue a process of devaluing the person and the relationship. This directly affects our understanding of and ability to relate to God.
ReplyDeleteMeg commented via Facebook: I have been reconciled to Christ by His death on the cross. If I am to understand it correctly then I am to reconcile myself to Him through Him and be at peace with others because of Him. I think Isaiah mentions it first and it is found all through the new testament. 2nd Corinthians 5:18-21 says: All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. I must also daily reconcile myself with those around me. I am a sinner and because of Christ, He has brought me to Him .
ReplyDeleteThanks Emily, Carrie, and Meg. Emily, I agree that reconciliation is a little used concept in many ways. I was tweaking the reader a bit to provoke a response to the poll. Several hundred views and 5 votes struck me odd.
ReplyDeleteCarrie, we see that economic "cutting our losses and reinvesting somewhere else" applied to great harm in personal relationships. Jesus didn't do this with us!
Meg, good application of the biblical concept. That passage in 2 Corinthians 5 is the key behind my whole Compelled2 blog! Thanks for commenting here but if you did it on the blog it would have been helpful for starting the conversation there. I want people to be comfortable speaking, growing, learning, understanding in a whole new way...along with me!