The Men in the Zebra Suits

I'm a basketball fan. I guess this addiction started years ago - and we're talkin' many years ago - in high school. Back then, my high school didn't have a football team, so basketball was THE sport. Several years later, early in our married life, my husband and I were avid followers of the Detroit Pistons "Bad Boys." The world hated Isaiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Bill Laimbeer and Dennis Rodman, but basketball fans in Michigan loved them! Fast forward to just a few short years ago when our son, Barry, played high school basketball, and we were faithful West Ottawa supporters for four years.

Currently my fix comes in the form of Hope College men's basketball.

Working at the college has its advantages. We are able to sit in the faculty/staff bleacher section, and our favorite spot is the very front row. We are mere feet off the court and close to the excitement of the game. We hear, see and sometimes even become part of the action when a stray ball or player flies into our laps.

Although our focus is on the players and the contest at hand, during most games our attention gets diverted. In fact,three people capture an uncanny amount of scrutiny. These folks don't get a break. In fact, they are the objects of spewed nasty comments and constant criticism. These are the men in the zebra suits. The officials.

A missed call. A bad call. A fair call. No call at all. All these actions can result in raucous boos, shouted insults and player angst. Now let's be real. Officials go through training. They know the rules of the game. Officials are doing the best job they can during a fast paced sport. It's usually the spectators that get their panties in a bunch.

Fair or not, officials take a beating.

In much the same way, Christians today fall under the same intense scrutiny. Sure, we've been trained through our reading of Scripture. We know the rules by following Jesus' example. And in this game called Life, people are watching. Our kids. Our coworkers. Our neighbors. The media.

We are doing the best job we can, but we don't always get it right. Sometimes we slip up. We make a bad call. Maybe it's gossip. Or cutting a driver off in traffic. We miss a call. Not volunteering to teach a Sunday School class. Keeping a tithe for ourselves. It's in these times we need to understand we're human. God uses common, ordinary people, sinners even (!), to accomplish his purposes.

But then we find, even when we make the right call, we get hammered. We remain true to our beliefs and often go against the ways of our world. We defend marriage. We honor life. We honor conservative values. It's in these time we need to persevere. We need to withstand spewed insults and vicious criticism. We need to stand firm in our faith.

Find encouragement in 2 Timothy 4:

2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

And our master, Jesus, encourages us with his words in Matthew 5:

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

So go out there. Blow your whistle and make the call. Jesus is in the stands, cheering you on.