Perspective

I played in a slowpitch softball game last night. It’s a coed church league that plays once a week. We played, well, not so well. I played, well, not so well. We lost. It didn’t help that we were playing a really good team. The game could still have been fun. It wasn’t.

It wasn’t fun because all but maybe 2 of the people on the other team were complete jerks (I had another word in my head, but this is a public site, so…). They were taking extra bases whenever possible, even once they were up like 18-4. They were arrogant in speech and action. They argued with the umpires over every little call (even balls and strikes in the last inning).

I am choosing not to get into how mean and awful the umps were…but they definitely were.

As I was standing at shortstop, watching grown men act like 12 year old, arrogant brats, all I could do was laugh. I mean, really, this is a just a novice slowpitch game. Can we all just breathe in a deep breath of perspective?

Perspective. We all need perspective.

How’s this for perspective? On Wednesday, Armando Galarraga threw a perfect game (the first perfect game in Detroit Tigers history, I think), only it wasn’t recorded as a perfect game. Why? The first base umpire, Jim Joyce, missed a call – what should have been the 27^th and final out of the game. It really wasn’t a debatable call. He just missed it. And he admitted it after the game.

And how did Galarraga respond? He handled the situation as well as it could have been handled, in my opinion. He finished the game, didn’t flip out about how he was robbed of making history, and even accepted Joyce’s apology.

It would have been a cool thing to witness his perfect game, but I think anyone who was paying attention got so much more than any perfect game could bring. As one article puts it, “Our reward comes in seeing someone perform at the highest level and then having enough presence of mind to maintain a proper perspective…”

Maybe Galarraga’s story didn’t impact you like it did me. Maybe you wouldn’t have had the same reaction at my softball game the other night. I have spent a good amount of time reflecting on these events, and here’s why – 8 years ago my reaction would have been completely different. It may have even been different 5 years ago.

If you had described me as “intense” in high school, that would have been putting it lightly, especially with regards to softball. I found out after I graduated that all of the JV girls were terrified of me and my temper. They were scared to talk to me during games. Seriously.

It is only by God’s grace that my reaction today to the same circumstances is different. I still struggle with my temper, with expectations (especially of myself), with disappointment, and with failure. But God has given me the gift of perspective.

My life is not about me, so when something in “my world” seemingly comes crashing down, it doesn’t mean the world is crashing down. My life is not about making me successful, well-known, respected, or envied. It is about Christ and making Him known. My selfish heart continually turns inward to focus on me, and me alone, but God graciously lifts my face to Him.

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. – Philippians 3.7

We could all use a dose of perspective, don’t you think?

Batting 7th

When I played softball, I liked hitting 7th. Not just that, but I actually didn't like hitting in the top 5 positions. I didn't like hitting 9th either. (In softball, the 9th hitter is usually really fast, so I didn't have a chance of hitting 9th.) But, yeah, if the coach ever announced the lineup and I was one of the first 5 names listed, I started freaking out inside.

You see, if you bat at the top of the lineup (or 9^th, in softball) people generally assume you will get on base. And it wasn’t that I was incapable of getting on base or a bad hitter. At times, I was actually a decent hitter. Now, I was never even close to the best hitter on the team (I was there for my glove), but I could string a few hits together now and then. The problem was somehow my position in the lineup had a direct effect on the pressure I felt before the game.

It all came down to expectations. I felt that if I hit at the top of the lineup, I was expected to get on base. If I got to hit 7^th, I wasn’t expected to get on base. If I did get on base, it was a pleasant surprise. I had surpassed my expectations.

And that’s what I like to do – surpass expectations. But surpassing expectations is easy when nothing is expected of you. And, honestly, I like it that way. Wow, that’s even worse to read than say. I like when nothing is expected because it’s easy to succeed. There it is.

But the thing is, in reality, we all have expectations placed on us. Even if they are low, someone places some type of expectation on us. We place expectations on ourselves. And God has expectations of us.

Expectation is no reason to have anxiety, though. Most expectations of us are placed there for a reason. Now, some expectations are unrealistic. I’m not talking about those. I’m talking about when people place expectations on you based on the God-given talents and potential they see in you.

Expectation is not a bad thing. Allow it to point you and others back to God. He created us. He created the potential that others see in us. Expectation is for His glory. Give it to Him. Don’t waste the opportunity to give Him glory by letting your anxiety rule. Allow God to take your anxiety and the glory.

‘Everyone to whom much was given, much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.’ Luke 11:48