The Power of the Rally Monkey
CBN.com - There just may be something to this Rally Monkey business. Believe me, I am usually the last person to get caught up in superstition, rituals, or believing in inanimate objects. The Bible is very clear about worshipping false idols. But there is something special happening in Anaheim and it all revolves around revival through a stuffed animal. However, it has less to do with this Curious George look-alike and everything to do with believing in something beyond the playing field.
On Saturday night, the Anaheim Angels were down and out. Finito. Done like dinner. The fat lady was tuning up her vocal cords. The World Series trophy was being rolled on a cart into the San Francisco clubhouse. Commissioner Bud Selig was rehearsing his congratulatory speech to the Giants. But quicker than a slow roller between Bill Buckner's legs, Anaheim came roaring back.
Trailing 5-0 after six innings the Angels cobbled together three runs in the seventh and three more in the eighth before Anaheim closer Troy Percival blazed through the ninth inning on the strength of his 95mph plus fastball to preserve a 6-5 victory.
As the last out was recorded, San Francisco slugger Barry Bonds stood in the dugout staring stoically across the emerald green of Anaheim's Edison Field in complete disbelief over what he had just witnessed. Love him or hate him, Bonds has clearly defined himself during this postseason as the best player of his generation. However, his legacy could forever be tainted by a team quickly becoming legendary for incredible comebacks (just ask the Minnesota Twins) and a monkey that seems to shine at exactly the right time.
Tell me, is there anything to this monkey business? Clearly, if I walked into any store, restaurant, or gas station in southern California during the last three weeks and posed that question I would receive a smile, a wink, or a playful nudge. But is there power in the monkey? I must know. While many fans grounded in common sense would tell me that there is not, it is frightful to think of the legions that would stand before me, straight faced, and expound on the virtues of the Rally Monkey.
Believe me, I have heard them all when it comes to stories of Rally Monkeys, rally caps, and tomahawk chops. Baseball more than any other game is fraught with rituals, regimented repetition, and lucky charms. Several years ago, I did a story on various Major League baseball players and their superstitions. I heard tales of placing Lucky Charms cereal marshmallows in a folded napkin then placing it in their back left pocket, wearing the same under garment for an entire season without washing it, and eating the same food at the exact same time before each and every game. Why? Because these players truly believed that by doing so they would play better.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news for those of you who believe in the power of the Rally Monkey, but I wish to dispel any myths that stuffed animals can enhance the performance of a player or team. As Christians, our faith in God is not dependent on our own human strength, the virtues of good works, or the dependence on some object. So often we lose sight of what our true belief system is. It is so easy to fall into this trap as you can become easily consumed by your work, a hobby, or a bad habit. Before you know it, even though you did not intend for this to happen, you find yourself living for "the monkey" so to speak and not the one and only true God.
The power of God moves mountains, accomplishes good, and can sway the hearts and minds of men not you or I, or a stuffed animal. We are inadequate without God.
In
it says, "And the angel of the Lord answered and said, 'This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit," says the Lord of hosts.'"It all comes back to the Holy Spirit. As we depend on the Holy Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ, He will guide us, transform us, empower us, and teach us to be the kind of Christians that He wants us to be.
The Rally Monkey is nothing more than a cute, complimentary component of this year's postseason. It contains no therapeutic, healing powers nor does it contain true redemption for those who believe in it. But what it can do is serve as a friendly little reminder that we cannot live our daily lives without dependence on the incredible power of the Holy Spirit.
