Light in a Dark World


 

Stand on Principle


This past Sunday after work I sat down to watch the Masters wind down to finish. At first glance the event was all but won by this seemingly inexperienced no name youth experiencing the glow of beginners luck.  Having traded in my sticks and clear days for my Harley-Davidson Softail Standard I have lost touch with who’s who of the PGA tour.

Drawn by the color and mystique and tradition of Augusta National I found myself at first resistant to the hyperbole of the announcers and their praises of the young tournament leader from Dallas, Texas. Twenty-one years old and breaking all youth related scoring benchmarks I soon began to experience a wonderment of how this young man was conducting himself. It reached crescendo with his walk up the eighteenth fairway onto the final green and the enormity of the event struck me as the cameras focused on his family waiting with elation of what son and brother Jordan was accomplishing. This witness via television was welled up with teary-eyed emotion as 21-year-old Jordan Spieth sealed the deal with a short putt. And then I watch as Jordan parted the sea of awe struck fans on his way to the Butler Cabin.  It was Grace on display for the world to see. 

 

 

And that was not the end as shortly thereafter I watched a 60 Minutes expose on a life lived on firm Truth. This story was of Mike Pressler a leader of young men not unlike Jordan Spieth. Mike Pressler is a Lacrosse Coach - as a matter of fact the reigning National College Lacrosse “Coach of the Year”.  He was also the head coach of the same Duke Lacrosse team that was falsely accused of gang rape nine years ago.  That case is perhaps one of the greatest travesties of misjustice in my adult lifetime.  Coach Pressler was the only Duke employee to lose his job in the scandal that would see all team members exonerated. He lost his job because he knew his players and believed them when none of the authorities did. He refused to turn his back and distance himself from his boys. He stood by them when the college community did not and for that loyalty he lost his job.  Mike Pressler was loyal to his players but more he was loyal to the truth. He stood by his team. He stood by his principles.

 

It took me till Monday afternoon and little help from Rush Limbaugh to understand the significance of what I experienced from these two stories. In the chaotic world that we live in - a world full of false premises -  Jordan Spieth and Mike Pressler were beacons of light showing us that there is a still a lot of light in a dark world. Thank God for that! Amen

 

For more on Mike:





For more on Jordan:


 

No comments:

A Carnivore's Paradise

  (Writer’s Note: In my upcoming book “ Angel Food Cake” A Forty Day Devotional for an Upside/Down World, there are stories referencing ange...

Most Viewed