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Saturday, August 13, 2005
I've always liked the Olympics. Sure, I'm from a large country with resources for good athletic training abilities so my nation wins a bunch. But what I'm usually fascinated with are the human interest stories. You know, the Kenyan athletes who have to train barefooted or the kid from a South American barrio who makes the team.
And of course, the always-occuring moments of drama that athletics can unexpectedly bring.
My memory is fuzzy on this particular one, but it involved track and field. Sprinting in particular. If I remember correctly there was a highly-favored sprinter in a longer sprint who was pretty much going to win the gold medal, they were just going to see if he broke the world record or not.
About halfway through the race, the young man tore his hamstring, making it impossible for him to finish. He fell, and was in agony on the track.
What happened next was on the wrap-up for the Olympics as a wrap up. His father, in tears at the watching of his son's dream crash right in front of him, scrambled out of the stands. He bolted past the security guards. He ran to his son. He picked him up. He put his arm around him to support him, and together they walked about 100 yards to the finish line. The son in pain and tears. The dad became very dignified and proud, very composed and calm.
The dad poured himself out. He gave up the joy of celebration and being a dad of an Olympic champion in order to assist the guy who would now finish last in the medal race. In interviews afterward, the dad said he wasn't at all embarrassed and he was never prouder of his son who he helped to do the very best he could under the circumstances. He gave of himself to serve his son.
It's a mindset that impressed me. An attitude that leads to giving God glory in Philippians 2: 5--11 (from The Message):
"Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of diety and took on the status of a human slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death--and the worst kind of death at that--a crucifixion.
Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth--even those long ago dead and buried--will bow and worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father."
Now, I'm not saying that media coverage for a short time is comparable to what God did for Christ...but on a small scale, it illustrates the point. The dad emptied himself and served his son...and he got more acclaim than he ever would've if he'd just sat there and let the paramedics do their job. The world was drawn to the love a dad had for his son. He wasn't dignified at all. He just served his son.
But we're supposed to have that attitude in every day life. We're supposed to imitate Christ is that regard. We're supposed to make a conscious choice to have a humble attitude...that everyone is more important than us. That the status quo of our lives is unimportant compared to anything else going on in the lives of others.
It's a tall order.
But one that we're supposed to fill.
Any suggestions on how to do that?
Brent 6:13 AM
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