For those of you that know me really well, you have heard me say "The meanest people I know are Christians". I really wish that were not true. It doesn't make sense when you consider who Christians are supposedly following. If you are reading this and are shocked by that statement maybe you are one of the mean ones. The truly nice people fully understand the truth that statement holds. So please, ponder it, digest it, and then consider changing how you treat others. But I digress. Believe it or not, this blog is about………POKER…..and religion.
For those that read this and do not like poker, please consider reading the rest. You may find it very interesting.
Recently"comedian" (note the quotes) Kathy Griffith has been in real heat with the "Christians" (note the quotes) of the world for some recent statements about Jesus. I could look up that quote but I don't feel like it right now. The jest of it is she won an award and while accepting it noted to the public that Jesus had NOTHING to do with her winning. I think she said "suck it Jesus" and held the award up and said "this is my god now". The point behind the statement is valid in my opinion. I understand what she was trying to say. She is not a Christian and feels Christ has better things to worry about than helping her get a crappy daytime Emmy. I would not have stated it the way she did, but the actual point is a good one. Why am I saying this now? I don't know. It may tie in later.
I have been following the WSOP main event as it airs on ESPN. There were 16 episodes that were 1 hour a piece. They were all typical poker episodes with no surprises. Nothing really notable in the first 14 episodes other than the most annoying person on earth acting like an idiot (Havad Kahn), and one of the most horrific blow ups by any seasoned poker pro I have ever witnessed(Scotty Nguyen). The really crazy stuff kicked in during episodes 15 and 16. The event was won by an amateur (again) named Jerry Yang. He seemed like a nice enough player. He stated that should he win he had big plans of helping those in need with the money. The statements seemed very real and very sincere. I can respect that. His spiritual beliefs were put out for the world to see. He was very open with his Christianity and former missionary work. His family was there to cheer him on and they were also very open. More on that in a minute.
One of the players at the final table was accomplished pro Lee Watkinson. He is a very talented pro. I am a fan. His girlfriend was in the audience cheering him on. She was obviously a Christian. How do I know that? She made it VERY clear. Here is how it went down: Lee ended up "all in" (all of his chips were at risk in one hand) against chip leader Jerry Yang. ESPN likes to catch the "cheering section" for each player on camara to help add drama to the hand for the home audience. Lee's girlfriend started quoting scripture and praying very loudly so all could hear. She was repeating "No weapon formed against him shall prosper. Make him a believer Lord." Over and over again. Lee sat there calmly and watched the hand as it played out. The best part was Jerry was also standing up praying to God at the same time and stating his faith that God had a plan for him to win and was making all sorts of promises to do good with the money, should God help him win this hand. Kind of the classic "if you do this for me God; I promise to do this in return". Everyone knows that God loves nothing more than a sweet deal. Blessings come with a "what's in it for me" apparently.
So here we have one side praying to God basically telling him that if Lee lost the hand he may be doomed to be an atheist forever and it would be God's fault. On the other side by simply helping Jerry win, thousands of needy people could be blessed with what I am sure would amount to 10% of the winnings (tithe joke). Wow what a dilemma for the Lord: Save Lee from eternal hell fire or help thousands in need with some sweet cash. I am glad I am not God!
What happened you ask? Obviously the Lord knows how hard it is to come by large amounts of cash nowadays because he helped Jerry not only win that hand, but the whole tournament for over $8mil.!
The whole thing seemed crazy to me. Every time they cut to a shot of Jerry's family they were shouting "Praise the Lord" or "Hallelujah". I can respect the fact they are not ashamed of their beliefs, but honestly it seemed a little "in your face". I am not sure why it bothered me. I know, on the other hand, why Lee's girlfriend bothered me, and why Jerry's religious deal making bothered me, but I am still on the fence about the side comments.
Over spiritualization of everything is something I have been thinking about lately. It seems that for years people have been pushing the "God cares about the littlest things in your life" approach to prayer. It seems weird to me that people are so easy to take out personal responsibility by pushing everything on prayer. It seems that when your average "Christian" has any type of decision to make like buying a car or finding a parking spot that is close they turn to the Lord for help. The "buying a car" topic and others like it are my favorites. These seem to be the easiest to get answers to. If I am driving a beat up car and I really want a new one, and I happen to have found a new one that I can get, it seems a no brainer. But in order to avoid being responsile for a bad decision, I pray about it and then low and behold I am overwhelmed with a feeling of peace. Therefore; the Lord approved.
I see this in relationships as well. On more than one occasion, I have seen people make horrible decisions when it comes to family and relationships simply because they "prayed about it and feel a genuine peace". OF COURCE YOU DO! Who wouldn't? It is such a dangerous path to go down. Can God communicate with you like this? Sure. But let's not throw out personal responsibility. Very few people can say they have no problem hearing God every time they ask a question. But when they know the answer they want, it seems easier to gain God's approval for it. That is something to think about.
But here I go digressing again. My original point mainly lies with Lee's (remember him?) girlfriend. "No weapon formed against him (Lee) shall prosper." That was such an awkward moment. Lee lost that hand and his girlfriend was left holding her faith like a deflated balloon for all of TV land to see. I guess a mustard seed is bigger than she thought.
If we are to give all the glory of victory to God, must we also blame God for our defeats?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment