Why we all need the Major League Baseball playoffs

The fallout from the government shutdown continues to dominate headlines this morning as the news finds new ways to profile the same basic dysfunction. Not much has changed from what I wrote on Tuesday, and, to be honest, I just didn’t really feel any sense of peace or purpose from the Lord to cover that same ground again today.

So, instead, I’d like to write about a story far closer to my heart: the Major League Baseball playoffs. 

Now, if you’re not a baseball fan, please don’t click away quite yet. Even if you don’t plan on watching a single pitch between now and the moment baseball crowns its champion, I think there’s an important lesson for each of us in what will transpire across the coming weeks.

As a Texas Rangers fan—or, some might say, fanatic—I’m sadly without a team to root for this postseason. 

Despite having the best defense in baseball and one of the best rotations, the Rangers’ anemic offense and leaky bullpen eliminated them from contention two weeks ago. As such, I get to watch without all that much emotional investment in the outcome. While I’d trade that privilege for Texas to be in the tournament in a heartbeat, it does make it a bit easier to enjoy the storylines that make this year’s playoffs unique. 

Baseball’s best or baseball’s best story?

If, like me, you’re in search of a team to follow over the next month, The Ringer and The Athletic both have great rundowns of the most interesting narratives this fall. 

If you’re a fan of underdogs, the Brewers, Padres, and Mariners are all looking for their first World Series—and, in the case of the Mariners, their first trip to the World Series. If dynasties are more your thing, then may I interest you in the Dodgers and Shohei Ohtani: one of MLB’s best hitters and pitchers, who also happens to be the most talented player to ever step onto the diamond? 

If teams on a hot streak are more your style, then the Cleveland Guardians could be just what you’re looking for. They completed the largest comeback in league history after erasing a 15.5-game deficit over the season’s final months to pass the Detroit Tigers and win their division. As a reward, they now get to face those same Tigers in the first round, with the future of both teams coming down to this afternoon’s game three. 

But whoever you choose to follow, it’s important to go in knowing that what happened over the last six months and 162 games really don’t have all that much bearing on what will happen going forward. 

The best teams in baseball this year still won less than 60 percent of their games, and that’s with the benefit of padding their résumé with baseball’s worst teams during the regular season. Most of these series will be a coin flip at best and hinge on a few plays here and there going in one team’s favor. 

That’s part of the fun, but it’s also why investing too much of your energy and mental well-being into a game is not always the best idea. And I say that as someone who is relatively incapable of doing otherwise and bears the emotional scars to prove it. 

While you may not have the same masochistic relationship with sports that I do—I also bear the unfortunate legacy of being a Cowboys fan…though I blame my parents for that—most of us struggle in some way when it comes to investing our time and energy in areas that are likely to end in hurt. After all, the only way to completely avoid that risk would be to isolate ourselves from the world, and God’s word is clear that we shouldn’t consider that an option (Matthew 5:13–16; John 17:15).

So, if we can’t escape the pain of living in this world, how can we approach that risk in a way God can redeem? 

Are you hurt or injured?

To stay with the sports theme, one of the most important lessons to learn when engaging in any athletic activity is the distinction between being hurt and being injured. If you’ve ever gone for a run, lifted weights, or played a sport of any kind, chances are you know what it’s like to feel sore once you’re done.

When that pain is new, it can be quite alarming. If it’s been a while since you exercised, you may wake up the next morning certain that you have done irreparable harm to muscles you didn’t even know existed. Most of the time, though, that pain is nothing to worry about, and the best way to get better is to just keep pushing forward. 

By contrast, an injury requires rest and demands a level of attention that basic hurts do not. If you try to push through it, expecting it to improve on its own, the situation will only get worse.  

In the same way, there are hurts in this life that—in the moment—can feel like an injury. The first time you lose a friendship because you’re unwilling to compromise your beliefs, or when you miss out on a promotion because you weren’t willing to cut corners, the pain can make you question whether staying faithful to the Lord is worth the cost. 

However, God never promised us a life devoid of pain on this side of heaven. In fact, Jesus was quite clear that we should expect a level of suffering in this life that is directly related to our decision to obey him (John 16:33, 17:14).  But he was equally clear that allowing that pain to shift our allegiance is foolish (Matthew 10:28).

That said, there are times in our walk with the Lord when the price for following him fits better into the injury category. In those moments, continuing to press on as if everything is alright rather than pausing to rest and recover will only hinder our ability to serve the Lord. Injuries caused by fellow believers can often fit this description, which is part of why Satan delights so much in fostering division within our communities of faith.

How to get back in the game

Ultimately, we must trust the Holy Spirit to help us discern the difference between being hurt and being injured. Resting when God tells us to rest is not a sign of weakness or a lack of faith; it’s simply the best path toward restoring our ability to serve him well. 

At the same time, the goal of such rest should always be to get better rather than to settle for a life defined by our hurt. The kingdom of God has little use for the kind of victimhood mentality that would see us replace our identity in Christ with an identity rooted in pain and trauma that we refuse to let the Lord heal.  

God wants more for us than that, and he calls us to want more for ourselves as well. 

So, the next time you take a blow in service to the Lord, ask the Holy Spirit to help you know whether you’re injured or just hurt. It’s going to happen to all of us if we remain faithful to Christ’s call on our lives, so learning how to heal and get back in the game is crucial. Fortunately, we serve a God who knows how to do just that.

Will you let him?

Quote of the day:

“You will have no test of faith that will not fit you to be a blessing if you are obedient to the Lord. I never had a trial but when I got out of the deep river I found some poor pilgrim on the bank that I was able to help by that very experience.” —A. B. Simpson

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