Handling Disappointment

Last night at Fenway Park the Angels collided with the Red Sox in a game which many people considered to have a disappointing ending. No-hitters are rare in Major League Baseball but Angels pitcher John Lackey seemed to be having a near date with baseball history as he entered the ninth inning Tuesday night. It was there that after getting one out that John would have his no-hitter broken up by giving up a solid single through the infield.

This situation began to jump start a thought in my mind. Is there a place for the Christian athlete to be disappointed? Naturally, John Lackey had to feel some level of disappointment when giving up that hit even though the Angels went on to win. My immediate thoughts would be to question the motivation of his disappointment. If he was disappointed because he would lose out on personal glory then his actions would have to be considered a sin. On the other hand I do believe that there is room for some level of disappointment in this situation. I myself have witnessed a live no-hitter by Dave Stieb of the Toronto Blue Jays when he no-hit the Cleveland Indians when I was a little boy. Something about that game was amazing just because of the fact that I got to see baseball history. If Dave would have given up a hit I believe that there would have been some natural disappointment that really would not have been sin.

I believe that it comes down to the motivation of the heart. If the heart can remain focused on the joy in Christ and the goal of honoring Him, then I believe there is room for natural disappointment.

Psalm 33:3, “Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.”

Brian Conklin
Omaha Metro FCA