Pointing Fingers

I was driving home from camping the other day when I stumbled on an interview about the late Manute Bol.  I joined the conversation in the middle of the interview when they were discussing how his faith in Jesus Christ led him to become a very outspoken activist for his home country of Sudan.  In his efforts to raise money and awareness Bol would do odd appearances, which included a celebrity boxing match against William “The Fridge” Perry and signing a one day contract with a minor league hockey team among other things.  The interviewee held an incredibly high view of Bol, his faith, and subsequent activism despite it’s “side-show” appearances.   However the conversation took an odd and rather frustrating turn when the phrase “mainstream media” made it’s appearance.

First of all if you have a radio show on a large regional radio station you are by definition in the mainstream.  As much as you might like portray yourself as an outsider throwing stones at the establishment if Clear Channel (or any other media conglomerate) own you they are in.  Painting with such a broad brush is really just an insult to your audience.

I remember reading UnChristian a few years ago and being blown away.  The premise of the book is that research shows that people who do not identify themselves as Christians view Christians in a very negative light, their view of Christians is very UnChristian.  Many of the typical players are here Christians are: judgmental, too political, anti-homosexual, hypocritical, and few other things that puts me in a great mood.  There have been some claims that the situation isn’t as bad as it seems but to me it seems like looking at a gun shot wound to the chest and saying it only hit 2 vital organs and not 3.  Christians have an image problem and in the interview one response is seen.

Back in the interview the radio host whose job is to drive ratings leaned on a tried and true method to do just that, he pointed his finger.  It was his belief that the “mainstream media” was not talking about Manute Bol as a Christian because they held an anti-Christian bias, instead they referred to Bol as only a humanitarian (which the host saw as an insult).  To the host the “mainstream media” could only see Christians as “extremist whack jobs” (his words) and the media was at fault for not seeing the light.  He concluded the interview by calling the guest a “true American” (whatever that means) and taking a few parting shots at the media.

Here is my issue.  The attitude as propagated in this radio interview does not help, it makes things worse.  Thankfully their subject matter in Manute Bol shined through as a great example at engaging these stereotypes and actually taking steps to introduce a more faithful Gospel, that hasn’t been polluted by our past misdeeds.  Bol’s examples are numerous, here are a few:

- React to God’s design.  At 7’7″ Bol used his height to give himself a platform in the NBA.  We all have a potential platform coming from our design and giftendness.
- Love those around you.  Despite language and cultural barriers Bol was widely considered one of the friendliest guys in the NBA.  Comments from former teammate Charles Barkley can be found here.
- Refusing to isolate.  Bol’s success in the NBA gave him the option of living a life of wealth in the U.S. but instead he returned to his home in Sudan and fought for justice even when the civil war forced him to become a refugee.
- Generosity.  According to Wikipedia Bol gave away an estimated $3.5 million to humanitarian causes, which is also close to his NBA career salary.
- Awareness of identity.  Bol knew exactly who he was and was not too proud to done a pair of hockey skates or boxing gloves for the betterment of others.

Bol lived a quite life of faith that wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t because of lack of effort.

Pointing fingers is easy, in fact it can turn into a rather lucrative life.

No one likes to be characterized in a negative light, especially when the stereotype does not apply.  The natural reaction is to lash out and attack.  Which is exactly what those around Jesus were tempted to do as he was persecuted, arrested, and executed.  Follow Jesus and don’t point your finger but point your life toward the Gospel.