The Christian attitudes and T.O.

I'm going to indulge myself a little, and discuss sports for a minute. Don't leave, I'll apply it to the Christian life, I promise. But first, Go Tigers!

I've been paying a little attention to the T.O saga. If you're not familiar with his work, I suggest reading the Wikipedia article on T.O. In any case, on Sunday, following a difficult loss to his former team, the Philadelphia Eagles, Terrell was asked why they lost the game, if it was someone’s fault. In response, he said this:

You watched the game, who's pulling the trigger? I'm just out there doing my job. I'm not trying to point fingers at anybody, but you guys know just as well as I know we win as a team and we lose as a team.

Jim Rome correctly pointed out that the answer to the rhetorical question "Who's pulling the trigger?" is the person who TO is pointing the finger at, and "I'm not trying to point fingers at anybody . . . we win as a team and we lose as a team" is simply there to make TO feel better about what he's saying. Note that TO dropped a few passes in the game.


I'm not going to assign blame, but let's imagine that TO is right when he doesn't point the finger at the guy who's pulling the trigger. Let's say there was nothing - NOTHING that he could have done to help out. What is the correct response? If TO were a believer, what should he have said? My guess, nothing. Just a guess. Remember what Mom always said? "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all."

Sooo, on to the application. I've noticed that believers do the same thing to one another, albeit on smaller stages, and not quoted in the national media. We nitpick at one another, criticizing things that are not sin, only personal preference. Like the selection of music, or tables being removed from your Sunday school room, or who comes to what service, or who signs up to help out and has to back out. If we loved one another as Christ told us to, we would have it so much better.

Worse than our gossip and malice over personal preferences is out attitude toward sin. When we see someone we don't like sin, we talk about it behind their back, and refuse to deal with it. Eventually, everyone in the church knows, then the matter is addressed. It's pretty clear from Matthew what our response to the sin of a brother should be, and it doesn't include anything other than talking to them, which Ephesians 4 tells us must be done in a loving way.

So, no believer should be "thrown under the bus" by another believer, to anyone. If their in sin, deal with it privatly with that person. If it's personal preference, don't say anything that's not positive. If you can't say something positive, listen to mom.