Living in the World
Points of Contact

There is a story in today’s Post Gazette http://www.post-gazette.com about the Steelers’ first round draft pick, Santonio Holmes, late of Ohio State. In a span of 25 days he was arrested twice in two different cities. The second was a domestic matter in which he allegedly assaulted the mother of one of his children. During the 2nd arrest he was incarcerated for failure to pay a fine for rear ending a car on I-70 in 2005. He was also arrested at OSU in 2003 for an altercation where 4 female students were reportedly assaulted.

Holmes is 22 and the father of three children to two different women. He has never been married. The article speaks of folks in the NFL knowing about his “problems”, yet he was the first receiver chosen in the draft. Another indication of how character is not an issue in the public world today. And, when it comes to professional sports, winning is all that counts. Read this interesting quote from Lovie Smith, head coach of the Chicago Bears when asked about Holmes’ moral failures:

Does he take his kids on the field with him? Very seldom to guys get into that once they’re on the football field. Things like that happen. We’re looking at his character on the field. We look at their character when they break the law, but that’s not breaking any laws. That’s part of society.

Is this not indicative of the secular world view? There are 5 tenants represented in this one little paragraph:
1. There is a difference between you private and public behavior.
2. If his problem does not affect his ability to do his job, it is irrelevant.
3. There is only a civil law with which to be concerned…there is no higher, transcendent moral law.
4. Three children out of wedlock to two different women…that’s the way it is.
5. The temporal and eternal well being of Holmes, his children and the mothers of the children are not a concern.
It is not hard to see why our world is in such a sorry state when these attitudes prevail.

As Christians, we can agree with point #4. That is what Calvinists call the total depravity of man. It is reflected everyday on the evening news. Of course, we Christians have the answer for Holmes. And, what a good place to begin by addressing the other four points outlined above. These are points of contact between the world and the Kingdom of Christ. Can we show that we do care about others as image bearers, that there is a better way to live, that all your conduct, private and public, matters, that who you are is more important than what you do and that there is a transcendent, self-sufficient Creator-Redeemer-King? Until and unless that is done, we can expect #4 to be the only point of agreement we have with Lovie Smith, Santonio Holmes and all other secularists.