Sports Spectrum

Last week, the NHL playoffs continued with one of the biggest upsets in recent postseason history. The top-seeded Washington Capitals, arguably the best team in the league, had built up a 3-1 game lead in the best-of-seven series and seemed as if they would coast their way into the second round of the playoffs. But then, Montreal caught fire (particularly their goalie, Jaroslav Halak) and fought back to upset the Caps in the seventh game. Unbelievable. For an 8 seed to beat a 1 is unusual to say the least, but this one is all the more shocking because the Capitals were so dominant during the regular season. It is virtually unthinkable that they would collapse so monumentally after having such a huge advantage in the series. But, as the old adage goes, the bigger they are the harder they fall. And the biggest team of all just fell really, really hard.

Life is filled with ups and downs and that’s just the way it is. Some failings, however, take a greater toll. Anyone who fails morally, for instance, causes harm to themselves and to others. The higher profile an individual has, however, the greater the damage that their fall will do. It doesn’t matter whether an individual is an entertainer, politician, minister, or athlete, the more visible a person is, the more devastating the results will be if they fall. This certainly happened in the life of King David. When he sinned with Bathsheba, the ripple effects of that choice brought great devastation to his very own family—but also reached throughout the kingdom. By contrast, when confronted with the opportunity to sleep with his master’s wife, Joseph refused. Why? Not only because of the harm it would do to his own relationship with God, but also because he saw the potential damage of such a fall on his master (Genesis 39:8-9).

There are plenty of good reasons to guard against moments or episodes of spiritual failure, but somewhere near the top needs to be our concern for others. And the more “others” we are privileged to impact with our living for Christ, the more damage our fall will do.

Bill Crowder, Sport Spectrum Chaplain

Categories: National Hockey League, Perspective

Tags: consequences, failure, impact on others, moral failure