Bread and Circuses

Let me begin by freely admitting that I enjoy watching sports.

There is one thing, however, that I do not enjoy while watching sports.

Regardless of the team or sport, I do not like seeing athletes injured.

When athletes compete to the best of their ability there is a probability of injury.

No matter what safety precautions are taken, there is always a chance that someone could suffer a serious or perhaps even life threatening injury.

Such an incident occurred this past weekend.

I was watching a professional football game.

A team from my home state was hosting a team from the East coast.

During that game there was a massive collision between the runner from the visiting team and the defender from my state.

In spite of precautions like helmets and pads it was obvious the runner had been injured.

He lay face down on the field and began to go into convulsions.

My first concern was that he had suffered a serious neck injury.

The medical staff sprang into action.

They immediately ran to him and tried to hold him down so that his involuntary movements would not make this potentially dangerous situation even worse.

As the scene unfolded I found myself praying for this man.

The situation looked bad, but then something happened that absolutely disgusted me.

A number of fans began celebrating.

One could make the argument that the fans could not know how dangerous the situation was.

There is a fine line between discernment and judgment, but in this case, I am not inclined to be that generous.

Being familiar with this stadium I know it has one of the largest indoor televisions in sports.

It is 70 feet tall and 160 feet wide and it is there to provide instant replay.

Fortunately, the player regained consciousness and after an unscheduled commercial break he was shown on the sidelines conscious and being examined by the medical staff.

I was relieved to see this.

My disappointment in the behavior of some of the fans remains.

Perhaps I am naïve, but frankly, I expected better from our fans.

In the tenth chapter of the gospel of Luke, Jesus tells an expert in the law about the good Samaritan.

A man was set upon by robbers and left half dead.

First a priest and then a Levite came upon the man and passed him by.

A Samaritan then came upon the injured man, felt compassion for him and treated his wounds.

Jesus asked the expert in the law which of the three was a neighbor to the man.

Luke 10:36-37 (NET) - Which of these three do you think became a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” The expert in religious law said, “The one who showed mercy to him.” So Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”

If Jesus used those who passed by the injured man as an object lesson, how do you suppose He would feel about those who would celebrate the injury of a man?

I entitled this piece “Bread and Circuses”.

This was a term that came into being during the Roman Empire when morality was on the decline.

It appeared in the phrase “Two things only the people anxiously desire — bread and circuses.”

Those in power kept the people happy by distributing free food and staging huge spectacles for them.

Where is the Roman Empire today?

If the celebration of injury becomes more commonplace in today’s society, then perhaps there is a more important question to ask.

Who is becoming that kind of empire today?

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, January 15, 2016.

I’ll be back here on Friday, January 22, 2016