The Crowd Will Be The Crowd
On January 2nd, 2023, Damar Hamlin, safety for the Buffalo Bills, made a tackle in a Monday night game against the Cincinnati Bengals. He jumped up after the tackle, and then collapsed in a terrifying scene. My understanding is that they performed CPR on him on the field to the horror of all who watched. In short order, there was a call to prayer by almost everyone, from sports media to fans to team owners. The call to prayer to see Hamlin survive, to have his life preserved, that God would be gracious and allow Hamlin to recover. As I write this 17 days later, Hamlin is recovering.
On January 17th, 2023, Ivan Provorov, defensemen for the Philadelphia Flyers, chose to not wear a rainbow jersey for warmups prior to their game. The team was celebrating “Pride Night”, which means they were honoring the idea of LGBTQ inclusion. Provorov cited his religious convictions for choosing not to wear the rainbow, stating that his desire was to be true to himself and to his religion, which is Russian Orthodox. The same sports media, many fans, and others have decried Provorov for refusing to be more inclusive, and cries of “hockey is for everyone” have risen up in condemnation of Provorov. Apparently, hockey is for everyone except those who do not wish to approve of LGBTQ values.
These two incidents in the sporting world remind me of a couple of other incidents that happened close together a number of years ago. A Man named Jesus had been ministering throughout Israel for three years, and one day He came riding in on a donkey and a crowd of people gathered around Him yelling out, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord,” and, “Hosanna!” which means, God save us. The people were looking for Jesus to be the King who would overthrow the oppressive regime they were under and would establish the glory of their nation. They looked to this King for their salvation, much like the sporting world looked to God for salvation in the Hamlin situation.
That was on a Sunday, and by Friday the crowds in Jerusalem cried something else when this King was before them, they cried out for Him to be crucified, to be put to death. Instead of a blessing upon Him, they now called for a cursing upon Him. Instead of looking to Him for salvation, they looked for Him to be executed. That is quite a turnaround in less than one week.
Apparently, hockey is for everyone except those who do not wish to approve of LGBTQ values.
The reality is, however, that it was not really a turnaround. The people were more consistent than you might think. They were not looking for a King who would rule in their hearts, who would remove them from the curse of sin, and who would give them eternal life. No, they were looking for a King who would rule in Israel, who would remove them from the oppression of Rome, and who would make this life better for them. When they thought Jesus could provide them with what they wanted, they loved Him, but when they realized He was not going to give them their desires but rather call them from their desires to new desires, they rejected Him.
I think you can see the correlation. When the cry for prayers went out for Hamlin, and many Christians were happy to see it, my response was that these people are not crying out to God for anything other than that He would give them the desires of their heart. There was no intention on the part of the sports fan base to conform their will to God’s will, that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven. No, the intention in their heart was that God would do what they wanted Him to do. They wanted God to perform a miracle for them.
In this case, it is much worse, though, because God did do what they asked Him to do. God preserved the life of Damar Hamlin, the crowds got exactly what they were looking for. Yet, the crowds still have no desire for God to be their King, for Him to have His will on earth as it is in heaven. When it comes to LGBTQ issues, the crowd wants everyone to bow the knee to the cause, and they do not care what God nor His people say about the matter. The same people who were claiming to need God just two weeks ago are calling out for the dismissing of God’s law today, and the excommunication of those who would stand for God’s law, as demonstrated in Provorov’s case.
Let’s remember, the world has no problems with God to provide things for them, their issue is when God places any expectation on them. The rebellion of man is not against the kindness of God, it is against the call of God to repentance, to leave their sin and to follow His will. Bearing this in mind will keep us from whiplash when the world seems to love and want God in one moment and hate Him in the next. It will help us recognize that the world remains an enemy of God, even when they are crying out to Him, unless that cry is a cry of true repentance.
