The Rutted Road to Finishing Well

This week I wrote about an American icon, Dr. Billy Graham, who marked his 93^rd birthday. Despite the debilitating effects of Parkinson’s Disease, the revered evangelist has remained steadfast in his resolve to live for Christ and proclaim Him to others. By all accounts, he is finishing well.

Also this week, another American icon, legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, has been the focus of much attention. Unfortunately, the spotlight has been not nearly as flattering for “Joe Pa.”

The all-time winningest coach at the big-time college level, the 84-year-old Paterno is now facing harsh scrutiny and criticism. He failed to be more forthright upon learning of his longtime No. 1 assistant and once “heir apparent,” Jerry Sandusky, sexually abusing young boys over many years. New developments in this scandal seem to be unfolding by the hour.

Wednesday Paterno announced he will retire at the end of this season. In a formal statement, he expressed regrets about the sad drama and said, “I wish I had done more.”

“I wish I had done more.” That reminded me of the powerful film, “Schindler’s List.” It’s about Oscar Schindler, a prosperous businessman who undertook a courageous strategy to save as many Jews as possible from the Nazi concentration camps. Despite having intervened to save hundreds of Jews from certain death, in a closing scene he laments, “I wish I had done more.”

Unlike Schindler, who acted at great risk and personal cost (even though not a Jew), it appears Paterno did little more than the bare minimum. With almost mythical status and power in his community, the coach certainly didn’t need to wait for his athletic director or other officials to act. Legally, it seems, Paterno had covered his bases – but morally, he could have done more. Much more.

Now, because he didn’t, numerous young men will carry scars from their encounters with a predatory adult for years, even a lifetime.

But beneath the horror of this specific tale lies a profound truth: It’s relatively easy to start well – it’s finishing well that’s problematic. The road is rutted, filled with potholes, but it’s the course we each must follow. A noble life, characterized by kind and charitable acts, can still become derailed if we’re not careful.

It’s not a matter of being judgmental. Just as poet Robert Frost wrote, I still have “miles to go before I sleep.” And if my life has any meaningful legacy at all, it can’t be tarnished by stupid decisions – or indecision – even late in my life.

That’s probably why, at the close of his life, the apostle Paul wrote – maybe with a sigh of relief – “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).

The Price of Prominence

The sports world has been rocked by reports of misdeeds by many of its prominent figures:

• Michael Vick recently completed his jail term for sponsoring illegal and inhumane dog fighting.
• Former Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair was found murdered by his girlfriend, who committed suicide. McNair’s survivors included a wife and children.
• Ex-New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress was indicted by a grand jury for illegally carrying a gun into a New York City bar (wounding himself in the process).
• Boston Red Sox star David Ortiz was the latest baseball player exposed for using illegal supplements – although he claims not to have known he was doing anything wrong. He joins the elite club that already included Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez and others.
• Most recently, Louisville head basketball coach Rick Pitino, also married with children, purportedly admitted providing money to a woman with whom he had one or more sexual liaisons when she said she could not afford an abortion.

The reaction? I have heard everything from “ban them from sports forever” (in McNair’s case, relegate his memory to public disgrace) to indirect references to Jesus’ statements, “Judge not lest you be judged” (Matthew 7:1) and “let him who is without sin cast the first stone” (John 8:7).

Frankly I don’t favor either complete condemnation or complete exoneration, but while we’re quoting Jesus, He said, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked” (Luke 12:48).

Each of these men was given much – talent, fame, money, influence. Shouldn’t we have a right to expect much in return, at least in terms of personal ethics and integrity, as well as on-field (court) performance?