Confessions of a Recovering Pharisee

This is in response to the overwhelming comments I received on this video.

Read the comments here.

Ever since the Mitchell Report came out a few months ago we have seen numerous ways of responding to the charges made in the report.  The report claims that many baseball players have used illegal performance enhancing drugs improve their playing and make their career last longer.  

Most of those named in the report acknowledged that they did use the drugs.  Some apologized. Others have kept quiet.  But Roger Clemens has gone on the attack to clear his good name.  I want to believe Roger.  I was never a Red Sox, Blue Jay or Yankee fan but I admired the way he played the game.

When Roger was named in the Mitchell Report there were many people who said he should come out swinging.  And swinging he has.  He has gone on 60 Minutes, made a You Tube video, held press conferences and testified before Congress that he did not use performance enhancing drugs.  He came across to me as believable.  But here is the problem.  His best buddy Andy Pettitte who was named in the Mitchell report and was trained by Brian McNamee.  Pettitte admitted that he used HGH.  But Roger flatly denies that he has taken drugs or any performance enhancements.  So what is it?

Then Roger files an anti-defamation suit against Brian McNamee.  Now team McNamee are pulling out all of the stops.  They are saying that Roger Clemens had a long time affair with Mindy McCready, a country music singer who has had her own illegal drug problems.  Truth is stranger than fiction.  You couldn’t write a more juicy story in Hollywood.

Here is the problem for me.  If Roger had admitted he took the performance enhancements would this have just blown over?  What if he had just kept his mouth shut?  Instead he makes a big deal and I think it is making him look worse.

What does this mean for us?  I usually can tell when my kids get defensive about something, they probably are guilty. When they calmly deny something, they usually are telling the truth, but when they get vocal, they are “usually” guilty.  It is probably the same for me.  How many times to we angrily argue with the police when we get pulled over for speeding (hypothetically, of course)?  I’ve found myself getting defensive with my wife and my kids and usually it is when I’m wrong.  I’m ashamed to admit that but it is true.

So what do we do?  I think the Bible gives us the best advice.  We should share our sins with one another.

James 5:16

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

Had Roger just said, yes I took the HGH and steroids this story would have probably passed.

Sometimes it is best to keep our mouths shut.

Proverbs 18:2

A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions.

Proverbs 10:10

He who winks maliciously causes grief,  and a chattering fool comes to ruin.

Proverbs 17:28

Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.

Had Roger just kept quiet the rest of the junk about his personal life would probably stayed out of the news.  This whole incident is sad because he is married and has children who are probably hurting.  

What do you think? 

[WCBS]

Police trying to find a vandal who ransacked a church didn’t have to go far in their search. They arrested a man found napping inside before Sunday morning services. Officers called to Most Precious Blood Church in Boston’s Hyde Park neighborhood found a broken stained-glass window, chalices thrown about, missing Oriental rugs and an open safe. Witnesses led officers downstairs, where a man was napping.

Read about it here.

[From me]

I thought the only sleeping that went on in church was on Sunday mornings during the message.

What do you think?

[Christian Post]

As thousands of students across the nation participated in the “The Day of Silence” – a vow among students to remain silent throughout the day in recognition and protest of the perceived “silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their allies in schools” – Christians found themselves facing a dilemma.

Although many Christians were vocal in their opposition to what they claimed was an annual endorsement of homosexuality – many called for a boycott of the event, and a number of organizations even urged parents to keep their children away from school that day – other Christians looked for ways to reach out to their homosexual peers while emphasizing the loving teachings of Christ.

Dr. Warren Throckmorton, associate professor of Psychology at Grove City College, and Michael Frey, Western PA Director for College Ministries with Campus Crusade were both instrumental in organizing what they called the “Golden Rule Initiative,” an alternative non-confrontational approach to The Day of Silence, which took place Friday.

As part of the “Golden Rule Initiative,” students passed out cards throughout the day vowing to live in the manner of Christ’s teaching to “Do to others as you would have them do to you” in reference to the passage from Scripture. The cards also read, “As a follower of Christ, I believe that all people are created in the image of God and therefore deserve love and respect.”

Over a dozen schools and campus ministries across the nation participated in the Golden Rule Imitative, and responses from students were reportedly positive.

Read about it here.

[From me]

Sounds like a great alternative to me.  Next year I will encourage others to use this card. Great way to display the love of Jesus in a practical, loving way.

What do you think?

[Seattle Times]

A Day of Silence inside Mount Si High School meant to show support for gay and lesbian students erupted in noisy protests outside.

More than one-third of students didn’t show up for classes Friday. Principal Randy Taylor said 495 out of 1,410 students weren’t at school, including 85 athletes whose parents had asked that they be excused for their personal beliefs.

About 100 people joined the Rev. Ken Hutcherson, a prominent anti-gay-rights activist, in prayer and song that questioned the dedication of a school day to what they said was a controversial political cause.

Snoqualmie police placed yellow crime-scene tape between Hutcherson’s supporters and about 40 counterdemonstrators, including some former students, who tried to drown out the pastor by beating drums and chanting, “Go home.”

Read about it here.

[From me]

I will remain silent…

What do you think?