“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all that I said to you.” (John 14:26 NASB)
Being a referee at a basketball game at any level can be frustrating, and even fosters a feeling of sadness. That’s understandable, when you consider how many unnerving times parents, players, and paying fans, people who are putting forth cheers for their preferred team, yell out to a referee disputing the call, challenging the words that came out of the authority on the court.
Calls can be made by referees in many sports, and in the modern-day time of instant reviews and multiple playing a game video to see if a call was correct, this happens many times. When there is an official pugnacious call to review the play, often signaled by a player or coach raising their arms and signaling for a review by moving a finger in a circular direction, the refs accommodate the complainers. The call for review is often accompanied by an onslaught of objections, opposition in the form of loud vocal disagreement and out-of-bounds language mixed in with verbal displeasure. Out-of-bounds language consist of words that are not a part of our Christian vocabulary. Well, not normally. After the review, if the referee made the wrong call, he or she concedes and reverses the call. Guess what? Them there are more complaints about the concession!
A Sport Journal article reported the following: “The NBA keeps statistics on incorrect calls and incorrect non-calls in the last two minutes of an NBA game when the score is within three points. The NBA has been doing this since March 2015 to enhance transparency of the game. Since March 2015 to June 6, 2018, the NBA reviewed 26,822 plays from 1,476 games. In those 4,297 minutes of action, the officials have missed or incorrectly called 2,197 plays, or about 8.2 percent of all calls reviewed. This amounts to 1.49 wrong decisions in the final minutes of each close game.” So, being human as they are, referees may not get the call right, but they fix it most of the time.
On our Christian journey, as we continue being committed to the climb, we have an authority with us on the court of life. He, part of the Trinity, the third Person of the Godhead, is usually referred to as the Holy Spirit or the Holy Ghost. He has a role similar to the referees mentioned above to make sure we perform according to the guidelines, not written by an officiation body or league rules commission but written by the inspiration of God. Therefore, while similar to a referee from an analogical perspective, please note that the Holy Spirit is not like a referee! When He makes a call, when He points with wise counsel to make a change, when He recognizes that a timeout is needed, He is always right. Therefore, saying it as succinct as possible, do not argue with the Holy Spirit. Let me say it another way. Don’t protest His call, but proceed to do what He directs you to do without procrastination, protest, or pouting. Again, “The Holy Spirit Is Not Like A Referee” in sports. When He makes a call, respond without a complaint, without crying, and definitely no cursing. Please don’t make Him sad. Thank you, my friend. Have a wonderful Wednesday! Be blessed!
“Don’t make God’s Spirit sad. The Spirit makes you sure that someday you will be free from your sins.” (Ephesians 4:30 Contemporary English Version)
Committed to the climb,
Mark L. King