The Square Peg

This is kind of a piggyback to the character vs talent post.

I've been thinking about celebrities and the expectations we have of them and wonder if it's possible we might be a little off base. Take Michael Phelps, for instance.

A while back I heard a lot of people talking about how disappointed they were to find out he had used drugs. I'm not condoning his drug use; like so many others, I assumed he followed the rules set forth by the Olympic Committee and was drug-free. And I feel badly for the kid; he made a dumb choice, the public found out about it, and he'll probably suffer consequences for his choice for a long time. BUT...

I never heard Michael say he was anything other than a competitive swimmer.

So, now I'm wondering why do we often assign certain morals to a person who has a particular kind of gift or talent? Isn't that presumptuous? I'm not talking about drugs because in the case of sports, it's pretty clear why the standards are set the way they are. I'm talking about other moral issues. Is it fair to expect someone who is clean-cut, a certain age, highly disciplined, or interviews well on TV to have a particular moral code of conduct? I know we hope people have certain standards because many times we long for a hero, and are inspired by people who raise (or set) the bar. But isn't it true that we sometimes put things on people unfairly by expecting them to be at a place they're not?

What if instead of having great expectations of people, we put grace expectations on people. What do you think?

I was having lunch the other day with a couple of business associates. We were talking about college football and the conversation turned to Peyton Manning. We were commenting on his TV commercials, his appearance as host of Saturday Night Live, and of course, his football career. And then 'C' said something that has resonated with me ever since. He said the main thing he likes about Peyton is that Peyton loves the sport of football, represents it well, and "he'll protect the sport".

I never thought about protecting football. I mean, come on, it's football. Is it important to protect the game? What does it look like when it isn't protected? And then a few folks who haven't represented certain sports, companies, or institutions very well came to mind.

And that got me wondering...what things are we a part of, and do we protect them? We join and participate in organizations throughout our lives: companies, fraternities, sororities, clubs, professional associations...marriages; and we usually do so without giving enough thought to protecting them.

Do you protect the integrity of the teams you're on?

As I watched the Alabama/Oklahoma State bowl game (sorry, BAMA, I was rooting for you), I loved seeing the fans showing their school spirit. I love how they immerse themselves in the spirit of the team they're rooting for, and demonstrate their devotion by painting their faces (and sometimes bodies), wearing school colors, cheering, donning crazy wigs, using their body to spell out their school's initials, and a host of other things. I love it when the camera pans the crowd.

But this leads me to wonder: why don't we do the same for God? Why do we get that excited about a game and then act like the Frozen Chosen on Sunday morning? Didn't God ever do anything worth getting fired up about?

I was a cheerleader, and I did a lot of the stuff I just mentioned in the list above for my school. But God has done WAY more for me than the school I cheered for ever thought about doing, so shouldn't my devotion to Him be as spirited or more than what I gave to my alma mater all those years ago? I mean, cheering for the Panthers was great and all, but God set me free. FREE! I'm not a slave to believing lies about myself or God anymore. I know He loves me. ME! I mean, I knew He loved you, but I didn't really think He loved me. But He does! I don't have to be separated from Him anymore. I'm never alone anymore! That's something to get excited about!

I can't remember who was the captain of the football team my senior year (could look it up if I had a yearbook), but I can't forget the knowledge that the One who stepped out of nothing, into nothing, stood on nothing, and with nothing created everything in the universe.

I may act loud, proud and crazy at a football game, but know this: my Daddy will get the same (or more) passion and zeal from me.