SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE:Bush League theology fails to appreciate failure

Many a major league baseball player, upon successfully crossing home plate, taps his heart and points to heaven. Acknowledging God as the power behind the power indicates his gratitude to the source of success.

This is Bush League religion, for what kind of faith would suggest thanking God only in times of achievement, while sidelining God beyond the pale of our shortcomings?

If only a batter who strikes out with the game on the line would then strike his chest and raise his eyes in gratitude for his miserable failure, that act would demonstrate a true understanding of God’s role in the player’s life. If an infielder who allows a dribbler to roll past his glove as three members of the opposing team pass him unhindered would then look up to heaven in praise for his hapless error, that gesture would display his appreciation for the one who teaches through painful experiences.

I commend a passage in the Book of Job, the story of a man who thanked God for the blessings of family, wealth and reputation, but then suffered a reversal of fortune outstripping that of the Cubs in 1984 (and 1969 and 2003). Job’s refusal to exclude God in a time of loss offers a model for today’s ballplayer: “Shall we receive good at the hands of the Lord and not evil?”

Here was a man who knew that it is praiseworthy to turn to God in times of accomplishment, but that the greater test is to recognize God’s guiding hand in trial and frustration.

Judaism features a blessing to be said upon receiving bad tidings, thanking God for the opportunity to examine the sincerity of our faith.

One more quote from Job is applicable: “The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Job recognizes God’s providence not only in the summit of success, but also on the anvil of affliction. A pitcher will gratefully look heavenward, believing God has granted him a successful outing in relief. This is not theologically objectionable as long as when, in a subsequent game, the manager pulls him for walking in the go-ahead run. Before that pitcher stalks off the mound, muttering curses, throwing his glove, overturning the water cooler and smashing his pitching hand into the dugout wall, let him first tap his heart and thank the one who did him a great kindness by helping him to lose.