If you are a fan of MLB, September 28th is the last regular season game for this year. Wildcard, Divisional, and Championship Series will be played until the World Series which is set to begin October 24 and run through November 1.
Baseball provides a lot of life lessons, some worth repeating and others worth avoiding. One life lesson can be gleaned by the strikeout king, Nolan Ryan.
Ryan’s MLB career began on September 11, 1966 with the New York Mets. He played with them from 1966-1971, taking off the 1967 year due to illness, injury, and a fulfillment of service with the Army reserves. From the Mets, he spent eight years with the Angels, nine with the Astros, and his final five years with the Rangers. After 27 seasons, he hung up his glove on September 17, 1993.
His accomplishments are impressive! He was an 8-time All-Star, 2-time NL ERA leader, 11-time strikeout leader, Hall of Famer for three ball clubs, Major League All-Century team, a World Series champion, and had his number retired in three ball clubs. However, the most impressive of his records is one that has never been beaten. He struck out 5,714 batters in his career, a record that is viewed as nearly unbreakable. Randy Johnson, whose 22-year career ended in 2009 with the Giants came the closest with 4,875 strikeouts, 839 strikeouts shy of breaking Nolan’s record.
If a record can be made, that means a record can be broken. It may be a long while, though, before it happens.
Right now, some of your eyes are glazing over and you are collectively saying, “Who
cares!” You don’t like baseball, you can’t remember the last game you watched, and you find it about as exciting and interesting as watching paint dry and grass grow. Well, let me say thank you for your patience as I set the ball up for a hit.
Nolan Ryan looked forward to hearing an umpire say, “Three strikes. You’re OUT!” And that’s how we treat a lot of people. We give them three strikes – or less – and declare them OUT. Peter had this mentality.
In Matthew 18, Jesus had been teaching the disciples about the temptations to sin (verses 7-9) and how to deal with those who sin against you (verses 15-20). This prompted Peter to ask something. Matthew 18:21-22 says, “Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? (22) Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.”
Peter wanted to say, “Strike seven. You’re OUT!” His strike count was a bit more than three. How long is yours?
There is a familiar adage that says, “Burn me once, shame on you. Burn me twice, shame on me.” Our pragmatic side says, “That’s right! Why should I let someone do me wrong a second time?” But consider what Jesus said in Luke 17:3-4. “Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. (4) And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.”
Forgiveness is hard. When we’ve been hurt, we go into survival mode, caring for our wounds and taking care that we don’t get hurt any worse. An apology may make things better, but it doesn’t heal the deepest wounds. It’s even possible to feel the sting years after the offense has been committed.
Unforgiveness, though, isn’t an option. We have to forgive. We don’t have the right to kick someone out of our life, yelling “YOU’RE OUT!” Our trust may have to be earned, but we have no Biblical right to condemn the offender with our unforgiveness.
A MLB player can strikeout a person, but we can’t. Instead, we must practice Ephesians 4:31-32. “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: (32) And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”
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