I learned something unfortunate about myself the other day. I learned I have the potential to be one of those dads. My son, Noah, is playing basketball for the first time. Let me preface my following comments by saying that I recognize that he is still learning and is not the best at the sport. However, compared to the other kids on his team, he's Michael Freakin' Jordan. I'm telling ya, this team is rough. Most of the time the other kids aren't even paying attention to where the ball is. It should come as no surprise that they have yet to win a game. This does not sit well with Noah.
Noah is not an aggressive kid. He plays well with others. Noah also hates to lose. Ever. So about halfway through his games, he decides that, if the other kids are not going to go all in, he'll just do it himself. Last week, he had more rebounds than both teams combined. After seeing the ball go out of bounds too many times because his teammates were facing the wrong way, he takes the inbounds pass and shoots it himself, every time. He never passes.
I've had a talk with him about that. This is supposed to be a team sport and even if his team doesn't do what they are supposed to, he needs to play the right way. I explained to him that if the other kids don't get a chance to touch the ball, its no fun for them. I told him how the other moms and dads want to see their kid get a chance to play. And he understands. He tries to do better. Right up till halftime. Then his competitive nature kicks in.
This is obviously frustrating for the other parents and I am sympathetic. I would be upset if I felt the other kids were preventing Noah from playing. So I'm understanding...up to a point. I always wondered how parents could fight at a kid's sporting event. Now I know. You want to fight when some idiot criticizes your son. Last Saturday, a parent shouted to Noah, "Pass it, you ball hog!" My first thought was, "I've got a better idea, 'how bout I punch you in the face?" I mean, who is he to say anything to my boy? Thankfully, I was able to remain rational and control myself. (Though I took some amusement when his oaffy kid got plunked in the back of the head with the ball cause he was facing the wrong way. Again. I'm a bad person, so sue me.) But the emotion really affected me! I love my son more than anything and I can't stand for people to be critical of him. It is the only thing that can inspire such a rage in me that I feel like I responding physically. That protective instinct in hard to suppress.
Most of us can understand that emotion. It probably shouldn't come as a surprise then, that God also understands it, that He would be protective of His children. This is something that is worth considering. I've had to deal with one comment about my son. How many does He have to hear on a regular basis? Just this weekend, I can count multiple times where Jesus or Christians were the target of criticism and ridicule in the media. And maybe some of the comments about the church were justifiable. Maybe in our attempt to do what's right, we screw up a little. I'm just saying, right or wrong, if you yell at my kid, we've got issues. The bible tells us God feels the same. The book of Ezekiel deals with God's correction of Israel, His children. It also tells us about God's judgement on nations that thought they had the right to talk smack about Israel. God is not interested in hearing anyone trash His kids.
So what's the lesson in all of this? If you belong to Father God, just know that He's got your back, jack! Even if someone may be critical of you for a time, God will not let it slip. He promises to repay our wrongs. On the other hand, I would think twice before I started trashing His kids. Life is hard enough without having God ticked at you.
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