From all I’ve read about the Apostle Paul, he didn’t have an athlete’s body. One second century author describes him as a small man, with a bald head, and crooked legs. Not exactly Aaron Judge.
But while Paul may not have looked like an athlete, he thought like one. Athletic imagery and metaphors show up repeatedly in his letters (1 Corinthians 9:24-27; Galatians 5:7; 2 Timothy 4:6-8).
This week, I was reminded of one of Paul’s sports metaphors as I read a New York Times article entitled, “Pete Rose’s Story Shouldn’t Have Ended This Way.” (Pete died on September 30th at the age of 83).
If you are a baseball fan (especially if you’re old enough to have followed baseball since the 1970s), you’ve heard of Pete Rose. Nicknamed “Charlie Hustle,” Pete is arguably the greatest hitter in baseball history. He once hit safely in 44 consecutive games. His total of 4,256 hits stands as the high-water mark for most hits in a career. (By comparison, Willy Mays, my baseball hero, has 1,000 hits less than Pete).
On September 11, 1985, when Pete broke Ty Cobb’s record and became baseball’s all-time leader in hits, he got a congratulatory phone call from President Ronald Reagan. The president told Rose, “your reputation and legacy is secure.”
Only it wasn’t.
Just four years later, in August of 1989, baseball commissioner Bart Giamatti permanently banned Pete from baseball. The reason? Pete had broken one of baseball’s cardinal rules by betting on several sports, including baseball. Though Pete initially denied he’d bet on baseball, the evidence showed otherwise.
Rose, who had been a sure bet to make it into the Baseball Hall of Fame was now ineligible—because he bet on baseball and broke the rules.
All this got me thinking of Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 2:5: “An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.” No matter how gifted or accomplished, an athlete is only crowned if he or she competes according to the rules of the sport. As Pete found out, break the rules and it no longer matters that you broke the record for most hits in a career.
Paul’s concern in writing 2 Timothy 2:5 was not baseball but ministry. He wrote to mentor a gifted, young minister named Timothy. Paul penned these words from a prison in Rome, facing immanent death. He had “fought the good fight” and “finished the race” (2 Timothy 4:6). Now he wrote to cheer Timothy on to do the same.
Paul’s words to Timothy speak to all of us in ministry. No matter how gifted we may be or how well-known we may become, if we violate God’s commands, we wind up disqualified as ministers (1 Corinthians 9:27).
One of Pete Rose’s trademarks was running hard. He sprinted to first base every time he walked (1,566 times!). He famously (or infamously) ran full speed into catcher Ray Fosse in the 1970 All-Star game. Sadly, he didn’t run from the temptation to bet on baseball. He gambled that he could get away with it. It didn’t end well.
in the same letter where Paul reminds Timothy to compete according to the rules, he also calls him to run hard in the right direction: “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart” (2 Timothy 2:22). Run from temptation. Run towards godliness. Run with other godly runners.
You may not have an athlete’s body (or you might!). But each of us, like the Apostle Paul, can “press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14-15). By God’s grace, let’s run in a way that our stories end well.
Rick and Linda Reed 