Down, But is He Out?
CBN.com - Baseball nation looked on with great interest and admiration just three weekends ago as Baltimore Orioles slugger Rafael Palmeiro laced his 3,000th career hit to right field at Seattle’s Safeco Field. Long considered the barometer for Hall of Fame validation, Palmeiro’s base hit appeared to be just what he needed to insure his place in Cooperstown. He hugged his family as the fans cheered wildly.
Apparently it was all a lie.
Last week Palmeiro was suspended from Major League Baseball for violating the league’s drug policy. The scarlet letter of professional sports was hung with care on this aging superstar despite his half hearted plea that he had accidentally ingested his steroid of choice.
For the record, that steroid, Stanozolol, is a heavy duty anabolic steroid that is used to enhance performance. To give you some perspective, it is the same drug that Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson ingested shortly before the 1988 Summer Olympics. Despite winning several gold medals, the International Olympic Committee banned Johnson for life, stripping him of all medals. Johnson’s career was ruined but more importantly his reputation was tarnished beyond repair.
To Major League Baseball’s credit, rather than obfuscate the evidence and create a cover up to protect one of their sport’s biggest stars, they chose to “out” the 18 year veteran, thus making a bold statement that illegal performance enhancing drugs are a problem that needs to be dealt with … and will be dealt with, period.
Speaking of “period”, perhaps the most disturbing component of Palmeiro’s sad, sad, saga are the comments he made before a Congressional committee in Washington, D.C. during spring training. Appearing with an All-Star panel that included Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Jose Canseco, and Curt Schilling, the 40 year old superstar pointed his index finger brazenly at a group of senators and congressmen and said, “I have never used steroids. Period. I don't know how to say it any more clearly than that. Never."
Palmeiro could not have been any more succinct. For the record, I came away from the hearings that day a believer. I wrote in a column on CBN.com that week, “Baltimore Orioles first baseman Rafael Palmeiro also testified that he had never used steroids. My intuition tells me that he may have been one of the only people telling the truth during the hearings. In addition, Palmeiro vowed that he would do whatever was necessary to help clean up the game.”
I guess my intuition was totally wrong. I was duped. But more importantly, Palmeiro did say that day that he would do whatever was necessary to help clean up the game. Well, Rafi, your offer should start right now with an apology. Not some half-hearted plea about not purposefully taking steroids or not being able to explain how the drugs got into your body. That is akin to “the dog ate my homework” or O.J. Simpson saying he will not rest until he finds the real killers. Why not say, “I am sorry. I violated the rules, I was wrong, and from the bottom of my heart I am sorry.”
But instead we are caught in Palmeiro’s subterfuge of lawyer-induced catch phrases that are somehow supposed to make everything all better. All I can say is that I believed you in March but I am not so sure I do now.
While other players haven’t exactly rushed to Palmeiro’s side to defend him, a few have weighed in on the steroid issue as a whole. Among them is Colorado Rockies outfielder Jorge Piedra, who was also suspended for steroids earlier this season. He told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel recently, “People in all facets of life are always looking for an edge. In business or sports, people look for ways to get ahead. There will be temptations that are in that gray area, and some people will fall for them. That’s life.”
Piedra’s statement speaks volumes not only for the actions of Rafael Palmeiro but for everyday like you and me. People are always looking for an edge or a way to “beat the system”. We think that doing so will make our lives more prosperous, more profitable, and much easier. As long as it is not hurting anyone, finding that small loophole can create enormous benefits.
All the above is true but you must ask yourself whether you are losing your integrity, and more importantly, your soul in the process. For Christians, our ethics go a long way in determining what is right or wrong.
In I John 1:7-10, the apostle John said, “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”
Sin is a reality for Christians and non-Christians. We have a broken relationship with God until we confess our own sin. We can never be good enough to meet God’s standards. Even our best intentions often miss the mark of God’s perfection. But, and this is a very important but, God in His goodness, provides a way of cleansing for our sins so we can have fellowship with Him.
We can walk in the light of God’s truth and perfection. But first we must be honest to ourselves and to Him by asking for His forgiveness.
It is understandable that each and every one of us wants to succeed in whatever we do. I don’t know of many people who actively pursue failure. It is important to remember that to be successful there can be no “gray” areas. We must strive forward with our best efforts in all that we do. This requires honesty, integrity, and the necessity to confess our sins when we commit them.
Portions contained within this article from the Transformer Study Bible.
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