Gospel Prism

Okay, okay, I am an unabashed Yankees fan. I grew up watching them as a child and still watch them, at least in my mind. Since my TV doesn’t work, I listen to some games on the radio or internet. And so, I have been following this saga with Alex Rodriguez, the best baseball player in the game bar none. But here is this man whose talent is so far above the others that they are already crowning him the man who will pass Barry Bonds’ home run record even with Bonds still playing! And yet, he is reviled and despised because he opted out of a contract that would have continued to make him the highest paid player of all time.

To understand what happened, let me provide some background. ARod was being paid by 2 teams, the Yankees and his former team, the Texas Rangers. The Rangers had traded ARod to the Yankees and part of that deal was to also subsidize his enormous contract. So when ARod opted out of his current Yankee contract, it was with the stipulation that the Yankees would lose that subsidy from the Rangers (you can hear the sigh of relief from Rangers owner Tom Hicks). Why would ARod do this? The primary reason is that ARod is represented by Scott Boras, the richest and most hard-hitting negotiator in the league. Their thinking was that the market actually would pay for a $350 million contract. And so they turned down what would have been a $290-300 million offer from the Yankees.

With all of this, ARod has now gone back to the Yankees asking for that old contract (which is now minus that subsidy so he would actually be taking less money than he would have originally received), bypassing Mr. Boras, who burned every bridge with the Steinbrenners (owners of the Yankees). So what does this have to do with the Gospel? It struck me that every article on this subject focuses on ARod’s humility (he is continuously ridiculed for his ego) and the enormous amount of money that is being thrown around. The baseball writers, unbeknownst to them, are considering Gospel issues, pride, greed, and humility. Our world continually bows down to the greenback idol that is literally on every street corner. People will do anything for money and as a friend said to me, when a person does not make money his greatest pleasure and goal, the world is startled. After all, why would anyone decide to forgo worshipping that seductive green statue called money?

But as ARod has learned, so often when one worships money, one will eventually will be humbled. God opposes the proud (James 4:6). He scoffs at the rulers of the world who believe they control the destinies of people (Psalm 2). So it can take billions of dollars to construct a large building (such as the new Freedom Tower in NYC), but it takes the flick of God’s finger to bring it to a crumbling heap. As Hebrews 10:31 warns: “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

I’m glad ARod is coming back. But I’m glad he’s coming back with his tail between his legs. Hopefully, his humbling will give him incentive to actually hit a baseball in October and not just from April to September. But I’m also thankful that Mr. Rodriguez’s story reminds me of a God who humbled himself (Phil 2:5-7) not to gain a $270 million contract, but something of far greater worth and value, to save wretched sinners like me. Money is fleeting, greed will end, but our God and His great Gospel will stand forever. (Heb. 9:26)