Parakalein

Jesus said to a sick man, "Do you wan to be well?"

Really interesting question.  Of course I wan to be well, might be the response. But the real question was do you wan to do the work to be well, are you ready to do the work to be well, are you ready to see the problem as not your sickness but the way you see your sickness?

We have all heard about the Penn State University future, the Joe Paterno legacy, the Coach Sandusky debacle, and the NCAA sanctions.  Who is looking at the real problem?  What is the system saying? Are we scapegoating, scaffolding, or segmenting the problem while keeping the secret that is the real problem.  Unless the system wants to be well, we will remain sick.  So what is the problem?

It is not institutional control or its lack.  It is not the "culture of football".  It is not the "culture of greed".  It is not the culture of "power control dominance".  All of those and more are parts of the problem.  The real problem is the human system is sick.  It thinks it has to protect only to promote hurt and pain.  It inflicts hurt and pain (sanctions) only to cause more hurt and pain.

Centuries, millenniums ago, the Biblical record tells us that Adam and Eve collectively representing humanity did what they wanted to do without any concern for the impact and effect on their internal and external system.  They feared they would lose something if they did not act in secret and eat of the tree that had been forbidden to eat of.  They ate, thinking if they did not eat they would be missing something only to lose something by eating. So for one act of disobedience, due to one false belief, the core of their begin was challenged and interrupted.  They ran on their heels and hid in their heads form what they knew to be true inside but now doubted outside.  The story that humanity has been told form this scene is:  "one bad moment, one wrong decision" has an eternal effect and is deserving of punishment.  The real story:  one mistake is one mistake you do not have to let it control or direct your running or thinking (head and heel are bruised).

The real problem in the Penn State dilemma is when we punish people and programs for a wrong choice and decision rather than seeing "the problem" is the problem.  When we see the problem with singular focus rather than multiple focused and we see through a punitive lens rather than a redemptive lens we engage in the same keep the secret to protect the system that only perpetuates the problem of the system.  When the NCAA Chair bullies the Penn State program to force contrition it is the same dynamic that the President of Penn State and Coach Paterno used to bully each other to silence.  Bullying wrong behavior is as bad as bulling into wrong behavior.

Thankfully God had a better solution.  He gave his son,  This Adam did all the right things and made no bad choices but was punished, bruised, hurt and pained.  By one man's (Adam) disobedience the sin (of running and thinking I am beyond lovable) was passed on to all humanity as the propensity to believe a lie and run from the truth, even so with the recompense of one man's obedience (Jesus) resiliency and reconciliation was passed on to all humanity. (Romans 5:15-21)*

So one mistake does not define who a person is in their totality.  So also one good choice to believe what is true:  that God's love and God's good choice to love no matter what invites us to stop running, and think with calmness, courage and compassion toward all parts in us and everyone around us.

So what if instead of being punitive and protective with good intention the NCAA decided to be positive and purposeful with attention inviting all parties to a table of reconciliation, respectfulness, responsibleness, and ultimately redemption.

A little bit of heaven would come to earth.  Everyone would be responsible and held responsible for "wrong decision" but everyone would also be invited to make a "good decision" to accept sanctions, fines and suspensions that while having some appropriate acceptable punishment are also preemptive of perpetrating more hurt and pain on innocent persons.  Who is the perpetrator and who are the victims? Who wants to get well and who wants to continue the illusion that power and control promotes reconciliation and transformation?

Just a note:  the innocent person who was the most offended by the sexual offense and the related cover up was indeed an innocent person.  We must find a way to hold the guilty responsible without punishing the innocent in the name of the innocent victim.  This indeed would be justice not just a decision.  Justice is either for all or lost to all.


^*15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! ¹⁶ Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. ¹⁷ For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!