The Gospel of Baseball: Discipleship is 90% Mental

With which statement would you agree?

"Christianity has been tried, and found wanting." (skepticism)

"Christianity has been found hard, and not tried." (G.K. Chesterton)

"Christianity has been found easy, and not tried." (Father Mary Francis J. Dougherty)

Certainly one’s answer depends on one’s interpretation of "Christianity." Are you thinking of it as a way of thinking, or a way of life? A religious system, or a relationship with God? Life behind a mask of rules, or authentic life with the mask taken off?

Reasonable people may interpret these statements differently, but several questions may pop up as we try to interpret them:

What is the essence of Christianity, and what do you have when you find it?

What is there about Christianity that is easy, or seemingly free?

What is there about Christianity that is difficult, or seemingly impossible?

Where is Christianity experiential (i.e. something to be lived out)?

Where is Christianity abstract (i.e. something primarily in your head)?

Some have had Christianity presented as a series of truths—a rational presentation of God, a formulaic prayer of salvation, and an invitation to a "reasonable" morality and way of life. In contemporary American culture, this approach to Christianity increasingly fails to convince. Some cite this as evidence of a culture drifting away from God; however, the criticism of this approach to Christianity is that faith is reduced to a series of cold abstractions and fails to elicit a heartfelt, passionate response.

Alternatively, Christianity is sometimes presented as a relationship—an experiential relationship with our Creator and Savior which will change us from the inside out. In contemporary American culture, this approach to Christianity alarms traditionalists who fear that the spirituality legacy of generations is being discarded in favor of personal, immediate experience, i.e., "If it didn’t happen to me, it didn’t happen. If I didn’t figure it out, it’s not yet decided."

As a solution to this impasse, I offer the baseball philosopher Yogi Berra, who said,

"Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical." [1]

In terms of Christian discipleship, i.e. spiritual growth, one might say, "Spirituality is 90% mental. The other half is experiential." If one objects that 90% + 90% = 180%, I suggest that there’s a lot more to your spiritual development than you might suspect. If you are primarily experiential, what might you be missing? If you are primarily rational and abstract, what might you be missing?

James 1:2-8

Commentary

v2 "Pure joy" is literally "all joy." See in this verse a certain mental discipline that, in time, changes our outlook on life. "Trials" may also be translated "tests" or "temptations."

v3 "Testing" here is a critical examination looking for evidence. It’s not so much that God would test us in order to know our hearts, but rather that we would know our own hearts. Also, the evidence from the test (perseverance) is fruit for what comes next.

v4 Remember last week’s sermon about perfection, "We Did Everything Right but Win"? Here we see perfection as being what you were created to be.

v5 Wisdom is not a new topic; v4 & v5 are linked by the repeated verb (lack). Wisdom is the culmination of perseverance. A more literal translation for part of this verse is, "But if someone lacks wisdom ask the giving God!" What a wonderful title for God! In your mind, is God "the giving God" or "the begrudging God"?

v6 Literally, "Ask in faith, not doubting!" Doubt here can also look like hesitation, or debate. We tend to think of doubt as an inward feeling, but doubt that will ruin your walk with God is doubt that translates into action: hesitation, instability, constantly changing direction, going back & forth on an issue, "like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind."

v7 The emphasis here is on receiving, not giving. The problem is not that God doesn’t give to doubters, but rather that doubters are not ready to receive what he is giving!

v8 The word translated "unstable" appears only this one place in the Bible; however, in other literature of the time, the word denotes restlessness and unrooted (or unanchored) motion. [2]

Application

You can avoid a lot of pains & trials in life: Do nothing (or do as little as possible). We would like to think that we could believe in something and still do nothing—have the comfort of trusting in something with none of the trials. However, trusting in something necessarily changes how we act. Trusting in anything (even ourselves) is the investiture of that thing with power and control. If I trust another person, I am granting them some modicum of power and control over my welfare and happiness. Even if I only trust myself, I am claiming power and control for myself instead of ceding it to something else—am I powerful enough to actually take control, or will I fail to take control and fail myself?

Alternatively, you can avoid a lot of doubts & fears: Believe in nothing; trust nothing (or believe/trust as little as possible). Here’s where James comes into the picture. We would like to think that we could do something (anything!) to avoid pain and seek pleasure without having to commit ourselves to anyone in the process. This is the modus operandi of our time—have fun today, but make no commitments for tomorrow. We even have the gall to misappropriate the Bible to back us up, saying, "Do not worry about tomorrow, let tomorrow worry about itself" (Matt 6:34). [3] The lie of our age is that our subjective feelings are always trustworthy guides for what we should do. As Christians, the temptation is to believe that our every impulse is driven by God’s Spirit. This is simply preposterous, and flies in the face of Scripture which says we need to test (i.e. examine) ourselves, check our motives, and scrutinize our actions.

Simultaneously trying to believe in nothing and do nothing is a nonsensical way to live (and it won’t work). Therefore, by all means, believe and act on your beliefs. Realize, however, that this will bring you into conflict, trial, and turmoil with those around you, others who have different notions about who is in control, and even the evil one. When you run into conflict, what will you do? Trust in your innate impulses? Aren’t they what have gotten you into trouble thus far?

Points to Ponder

Ballplayers practice routine plays endlessly. They field grounders, shag fly balls, and practice throwing to the various bases. They learn to handle not just the simple plays, but to read the signs from the catcher; to anticipate the batter’s reaction; to judge the wind, the speed of the ball off the grass; to pick up a fly ball against the clouds, or blue sky, or lights, or sun; to anticipate situations; and to react to the unexpected. They may well make mistakes, but they are prepared mentally and physically, and they persevere.

Therein is your model: be confident in your faith in Jesus to change the circumstances of your life; know what you believe and why you believe it; practice your faith during times of peace and quiet (you may know this as your prayer time or devotional time). Then when the trials come—and they will come—because you are putting your faith into practice, you will be prepared to receive the help that God sends.

End Notes:
1 - This is an example of something called a "Yogiism"—usually these are oxymorons or absurdly self-contradictory statements, e.g.: "Nobody goes to eat there anymore—it’s too crowded."

2 - In order to get a full sense of the instability, the Biblical use of two closely related words is worth noting:
James 3:8 "the tongue is a restless [uncontrollable] evil, full of deadly poison"
James 3:16 "where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice"
Luke 21:9 "when you hear of wars and revolutions ... "
1 Cor. 14:33 "God is not a God of disorder but of peace"
2 Cor. 6:5 "in beatings, imprisonments and riots"
2 Cor 12:20 "there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance & disorder."

3 - In context, Matthew 6:25-34 is about trusting in God as our #1 priority in life. Everything else in life falls into place once that happens. However, we take v34 as license to do today without commitment to tomorrow. Shame!