As a kid playing sports I depended a lot on the Almighty. I knew the Lord’s Prayer, or as we called it the “Our Father” which when I prayed I intoned the words “thy will be done.” But what I really meant by that was that His will should be done only when it coincided with my will.
When playing in a sporting event, especially baseball, I would often call upon God’s assistance by making the sign of the cross and then asking Him to exercise his will in my favor when I went up to bat. I didn’t want to strike which I had a propensity to do. I hoped He saw to it that I got a hit or at least a walk. The same thing was when playing the outfield I asked Him to help me make a catch of a ball hit out to me. I hard a particularly hard time of doing that. I just thought I was plainly incompetent.
When I went into the Marines to become a pilot I was rejected because it was discovered that I have no depth perception. It was believed that was necessary for a pilot to properly land an airplane especially if one was to fly a jet to land it onto an aircraft carrier which Marine pilots must be capable of doing that one put his wheels on the deck and not in the brink. Looking back I wondered if my inability to be a marginally competent outfielder was affected by that deficiency.
I also in review considered that when we were playing in the CYO league the pitcher on the other side or the batter who hit the fly ball had also called upon Him for assistance. I’d wonder how was it God made the decision who best to help. Was it the one who sinned the least? Or, did God not take sides and let things just work themselves out. Being omniscient God already knew the outcome; being omnipotent He had the power to bring about the result that he knew was foretold.
I thought of that after watching the Clemson thumping of Alabama (Someone wrote to here to say Clemson wasn’t good this year because the ACC was weak. Is he now saying BC is better than Alabama. It only lost to Clemson by 20 points compared to Alabama’s 28?) The coach of the Clemson team, Dabo Swinney, after the game in an on-the-field interview said the win was a blessing and it was because “the grace of the good Lord to allow” the team to be in the position to win. He went on to say they are the first 15 and 0 team in college history and “all the glory goes to the good Lord.”
If Swinney was thanking “the good Lord” for bestowing his beneficence on Clemson. I wondered what Alabama had done for Him to withhold them from it. I wondered if the Alabama coach, Nick Saban, would say anything about the lack of Divine intervention. He didn’t. He said one game doesn’t define a team and noted he was proud of his boys but he obviously was very down.
I had to wonder why it was that God favored Clemson over Alabama. At first I thought that it was because Alabama voted for Trump then discarded that idea because South Carolina also did plus God allowed Alabama to win last year. I concluded that God was either indifferent to who won, or better, He decided in the interest of fairness because Alabama won last year He’d help Clemson this year.
I suppose it is something we will never be able to give an answer to because we really are only guessing at the ways of the Almighty. And you have to do that when you realize that He gave thumbs up to Trump being elected.
John, who was in financial difficulty, walked into a church and started to pray. ”Listen God,” John said. ”I know I haven’t been perfect but I really need to win the lottery. I don’t have a lot of money. Please help me out.” He left the church. A week went by, and he did not win the lottery.
He walked into a synagogue. ”Come on, God,” he said. ”I really need this money. My mom needs surgery and I have bills to pay. Please let me win the lottery.” He left the synagogue. A week went by, and he did not win the lottery.
He went to a mosque. ”You’re starting to disappoint me, God,” he said. ”I’ve prayed and prayed. If you just let me win the lottery, I’ll be a better person. I don’t have to win the entire jackpot, just enough to get me out of debt. I’ll give some to charity, even. Just let me win the lottery.” John thought this did it, so he got up and walked outside.
The clouds opened up. A booming voice said, ”John, buy a lottery ticket.”
Good joke. Not funny, but good for sure.
Since college football is surrounded and infused with gambling, alcohol abuse, steroids, sex, drug use, crime on a dozen levels, cheating, spinal chord injuries in young men, violence, and a hundred other negatives, I am sure Jesus would not approve of its playing.
Take that, Monsignor Day.
Just checked in with god.
She says Matt has to stop taking
those performance enhancing drugs
His nipples are outgrowing his trainer bra
and you know what happened to his squishy,squishy
peanuts…
in other testosterone news
https://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/ny-news-traditional-masculinity-harmful-psychological-association-20190109-story.html
‘Traditional masculinity’ officially labeled ‘harmful’ by the American Psychological Association
By JESSICA SCHLADEBECK
| NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
ugh
https://freebeacon.com/issues/judge-dismisses-lawsuit-alleging-fbi-role-in-2015-terror-attack-in-texas/
Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Alleging FBI Role in 2015 Terror Attack in Texas
Injured security guard wanted to know FBI’s actions in lead-up to the atta
BY: Todd Shepherd
January 5, 2019 5:00 am
Shortly after the “Muhammad Art Exhibit” event was announced in early 2015, the undercover agent who had been infiltrating the small cell of radicals texted Simpson, saying, “tear up Texas.”
Additionally, the undercover agent was in a separate car directly behind Simpson and Soofi when they opened fire and had been taking pictures of the attackers’ car just seconds before the shooting began.
When the first shots were fired, the undercover agent fled his own vehicle, but was apprehended by local police, at which point the agent told police he was undercover with the FBI.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/17/nyregion/terror-attack-wiretap-saipov.html
F.B.I. Wiretap Recorded Suspect on Eve of Bike Path Terror Attack
The Uzbek man charged with using a truck to kill eight people on a Manhattan bike path last year was recorded on an F.B.I. wiretap the day before the attack and was heard on other calls going back three years, according to two court filings by defense lawyers.
The filings do not reveal the contents of the conversations or whether the man, Sayfullo Saipov, 30, was overheard making threats or talking about an impending attack. Still, the filings suggested that Mr. Saipov was in touc
God did intervene for the four teams that made the playoffs. A team from Alabama, South Carolina, Indiana and Oklahoma. All four state’s voted for Trump. The next four teams Ohio, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas also voted for Trump. If you wanted God on your side you were a Trump voter. God loves Deplorables. God frowns on the West coast and the Northeast college teams.. Pro sports don’t count. Too much like pro wrestling. 2. The perception that the ACC was weak was mistaken, It had a better bowl record than the SEC and they only cancelled the BC game because BC was leading. The title game was a mismatch. The number two team in the SEC, Georgia got steamrolled by Texas. Bevo, the mascot chased the Georgia bulldog out of the stadium The SEC was a weak and frightened conference this year. All media hype. 3. What is your take on the laws trying to outlaw the boycott of Israel? Aren’t they on their face unconstitutional? Doesn’t the 1st Amendment bar their enactment? 4. The final A P rankings came out. Only two ACC teams made them. Duke got the shaft. They beat Army and Northwestern, two of the ranked teams.
Sounds like you might have thought Pompeii got the win over Vesuvius?
If God had an interest it would be BC or Holy Cross or at least Notre Dame. (I don’t think Fordham has a team anymore.)
Then again, think of all the warsfought ove the millennia with bothering sides fighting for God.
God Knows
Matt :
Sometimes when you think you are winning you are actually losing ; Sometimes when you think you are losing you are actually winning .
This was a setback for the Dark Lord, Nick Saban. He’s a great college coach but no more than Belichick Lite, at least as I see it.
Afterthought: I’m being too mean here. Saban has compiled a great record, and he runs a clean program.