It’s good—and increasingly rare—when people involved with the world of sports manage to maintain a sense of perspective. It must be a very hard thing to do.

 Fay Vincent, former commissioner of Major League Baseball demonstrated perspective when the Loma Prieta earthquake interrupted the baseball World Series early one evening in the fall of 1989. The San Francisco Giants and Oakland A’s were just getting set to play each other in game three of the series. Candlestick Park was filled with nearly sixty thousand fans when the earthquake struck.

 In the quake’s immediate aftermath, Vincent announced he was suspending the series—without any certainty that it would be resumed (it eventually was, to the dismay of Giants fans). In bringing the World Series to a halt, Vincent displayed a fine sense of perspective. People had more important things to do just then, he explained, than to think about “this modest little game.”

 Contrast that with this about the 2007 World Series, just completed. “You didn’t just see the Boston Red Sox win the World Series,” explained Jayson Stark on ESPN.com. “You didn’t just see the Red Sox sweep the World Series. You saw something bigger, something deeper, something historic. . . This is a franchise that has turned life as we used to know it upside down.”

 Okay, I understand Stark is a sports guy writing for sports guys. Hyperbole is part of the game in sports writing. And, yes, the Red Sox did win the series in fine fashion. Lowell, Beckett, and Papelbon were great. But when it’s all over, it’s just that: fashion—the current vibe, soon to be eclipsed by others. If indeed “life as we used to know it” was turned upside down by the Red Sox, the upheaval scarcely lasted past 8 o’clock the following morning. Some people seem to be missing the fact that games are, well, games.

Living in the heartland of the country as I do, it is impossible not to follow the fortunes of the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers football team (Some flagpoles in the Huskers’ hometown of Lincoln display three flags: the Stars and Stripes, the Huskers, and the state of Nebraska—in that order).

 The Huskers have not been doing so well lately, and fans are not amused. After a recent Huskers loss to Texas A&M, fans accosted team captain Zack Bowman outside the stadium.

“You su– –,” they shouted, according to Bowman. “How can y’all wake up in the morning?” It probably wasn’t the worst thing fans said. Other team members have reported similar fan support.

Well look, I understand it’s more fun for your team to win than lose, but keep it in perspective. These Huskers are college kids. They’re kids! They’re playing a game!

 On a recent afternoon while I was driving around running errands, I scanned past a local sports talk radio station, and stopped to listen. An apparently grown man was struggling to maintain his emotional composure as he fervently explained how he just didn’t even want to go to the stadium anymore. Imagine!

 Well, such fans are easy targets, so I should quit taking shots at them. But it does make me wonder about the possibility of losing my own sense of perspective on life without realizing it.

When everything except the very most important things in life are stripped away, what is actually left? And do I live the hours I’ve been given in this life conscious of those most important values and priorities?

 The apostle Paul usually managed to keep things in perspective (That could be why his writing is still around 2,000 years later, while Jayson Stark’s columns are pretty much exhausted by the next day). When writing to his young associate Timothy, Paul talked about ultimate values and priorities.

 “Godliness with contentment is great gain,” wrote Paul. “For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it” (1 Timothy 6:6-7). A couple paragraphs later, Paul counseled, “Be rich in good deeds . . . , generous and willing to share. In this way . . . take hold of the life that is truly life” (6:18-19). Read the verses in between for a more detailed dose of reality.

 Perspective such as Paul’s brings balance to life. My point is not that life should be dull (on the contrary, a read through the last several chapters of the book of Acts makes Paul sound like a first-century Indiana Jones). We should enjoy our lives on this planet (including rooting for the home team now and then), but I’m convinced we’ll enjoy life more if we give the most attention to the most important stuff—that is, if we keep our perspective. Given a choice between Paul and Jayson Stark—the New Testament and ESPN.com—it’s pretty obvious to me where the clearer perspective on life is to be found. 

B.W.