Read
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”
Matthew 7:24
Reflect
Ty Cobb is one of the greatest players in the history of baseball. In fact, he was one of the first five players inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. Unfortunately, he was also unfairly regarded as one of the biggest jerks in baseball, largely because of an unscrupulous biographer who tarnished Cobb’s reputation after his death.
Over the years, Cobb’s character has largely been restored, and some of his wisdom has come to light in the process. One quote particularly surprised me. He said, “For years I ate baseball, I slept baseball, I talked baseball, I thought baseball, I lived baseball.” But he followed that with, “When you get beyond those years of playing professional baseball, you can’t live on baseball.”
As I reflect on that statement, I think of another man who played baseball, and who I knew personally. Paul Derringer was one of the best pitchers of his time, but he played on some terrible teams and didn’t win enough games to make the Hall of Fame. Even so, he had some incredible accomplishments, such as making six All Star games and winning the first-ever night baseball game. But unlike Ty Cobb, Paul could be a pretty distasteful guy when he played pro ball. For example, when he played for Cincinnati he got tired of being lectured by his general manager, Larry MacPhail, so he picked up an ink well from MacPhail’s desk and threw it at him. MacPhail said. “You might have killed me, Derringer,” to which Paul replied, “That’s what I was meaning to do.”
Bad attitude notwithstanding, baseball took pretty good care of Paul while he was playing, but by the time I met him, he was an old man who was living on a meager retirement, was in failing health and was on his third wife. More importantly, he had become a Christian and was gentle and kind, and instead of throwing baseballs (or inkwells), he baked sugar-free pies for his friends. Paul loved baseball but, like Ty Cobb, he found out that you can’t live on the game once your playing days are finished.
No matter how good you are at what you do — whatever it is, even if it’s professional baseball — it will one day pass away. If your foundation of life is family, education, reputation, career or hobby, you will one day find that your foundation is too weak and will not sustain you. And as our scripture notes, a poor life foundation will not support a strong spiritual home.
When our behavior matches our beliefs, Jesus becomes our foundation. Today, pray that the Lord will reveal to you areas where your foundation might be weak and that He will help you repair these areas and strengthen your spiritual footing.
Reflection copyright © 2022 Doug DeBolt and Charles Fulton.
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
