Dwight Howard NBA - CCB in the News Again

Dwight Howard is the High School basketball phenom who is set to bring CCB (Contemporary Christian Basketball) to the NBA. I've already talked about him here, just voicing some of my concerns and hopes that his fame doesn't cause him to compromise his faith. In that post I received several comments from folks who seem to either know him, or know alot more about him than I do. And, everyone that has commented has great things to say about him. He seems to be the real deal, and for that we can praise God.

Dwight's walking into the kind of situation that I talked about in my post "A Theology of the City," where I mentioned that, a la the Tower of Babel, the big city (in this case the NBA) is a place where to make it you have to go and make a name for yourself (Genesis 11:4). This mindset is the antithesis of what it takes to maintain your affection for Christ. If you read Neil Uchitel's comments on that entry you can see a mdern day example of how the lure to make a name for oneself can bring all kinds of temptation that makes it hard to follow Christ.

Dwight is featured in a Friday May 28, column on ESPN by Darren Rovell, called "Religion Won't Sway Magic's Decision." The Orlando Magic have won the first pick in the NBA Draft Lottery. Pat Williams, who is also an outspoken Christian and the Senior Executive Vice President, seems to be interested in him and there is alot of talk about how his outspoken Christian convictions will play in the NBA and particularly in the locker room.

Dwight could be another David Robinson, who has demonstrated that one can combine outstanding basketball ability, superstardom, and genuine faith. There is one paragraph in the article to the effect that Robinson's outspoken faith caused some trouble in the Spur's locker room at one time, but it must not have caused too much trouble as the Spurs were able to win 2 NBA championships with him.

The article gives you some insight into Dwight's character - he wants to use his projected NBA stardom as a platform for communicating his faith. He wants to put a cross on the NBA logo. Dwight is the antithesis of the Embarassed Believer, who cowers and stays quiet about his faith. He appears to be the kind of guy that young (and old alike) men and women can learn from and emulate. However, without sounding like a wet blanket I have a few thoughts on how he might best use his NBA platform for Christ.

1. Remember Matthew 6:1:

“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven."
The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Mt 6:1). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

This isn't to say that Dwight or anyone else should keep silent and invisible in the world, its simply saying that we concentrate on doing our "acts of righteousness" in secret. Putting a cross over the NBA logo isn't the way to impress God - its the deeds done in secret, when there are no reporters around that will cement his character and his witness. For Dwight, and Christians in his position, the courageous thing is not to thank God on national TV or to pray after the game or to wear some symbol of one's faith on their jersey. The courageous thing is to say "no thank you" night after night to the hordes of women who will throw themselves at him. The courageous thing will be to not retaliate as his teammates and others mock him for his moral purity, but to bless them and pray for them. I do hope that Dwight will be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks him to give a reason for the hope that he has (I Peter 3:15), and I think he will. I just hope that he won't equate "acts of righteousness" done before the eyes of men with true Christian witness.

2. Remember the wisdom of I Thessalonians 4:11:

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (1 Th 4:11). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

I've always been intrigued by that passage. Here's Paul, giving some practical instructions on Christian living and in the context this is right before he is about to talk about the second coming of Christ. You would think that, in view of coming of the Lord, Paul would be advising the Thessalonians to go out and do all they can to win everyone they can to Christ. You would think he would be saying "be bold, be courageous, go out and win 'em all." But no, he says that we are to be ambitious for something. The Christian's ambition is to live the quiet life, not the "noticeable" life. We are to make it our ambition to live the quiet life, the one where we mind our own business and work with our hands.

I realize there is no such thing in the NBA as the quiet life. Dwight has been given talent by God which puts him in an arena where he couldn't go unnoticed if he wanted to. And, like Eric Liddell, I believe that he has every right to feel the pleasure of God when he runs (shoots, dunks, passes, blocks). But, what he needs to do is to concentrate on taking care of his own business first and foremost.

To have a platform for Christ, Dwight will first need to prove that he is the hardest worker on the team. He needs to be the Larry Bird type who is still in the gym shooting after everyone else goes home. He'll need to be the most unselfish player on the court. In true Christlike fashion, he'll need to do all he can to make the other players look good. David Robinson had a tremendous platform for Christ mainly because he was better than anyone else. For Dwight to have the same platform, he needs to become the best basketball player first, and this is not a given. For every Kobe or LeBron who has walked into the NBA at 18 and done well, there have been plenty of washouts. Hopefully Dwight will demonstrate staying power and excellence first, then the world will want to know all about his faith.

In saying all of this I am not at all being critical of Dwight. He may give me a reason to watch the NBA again. The basketball players I have loved are all gone now. I was a big fan of Jerry West, John Havlicek, Lew Alcindor/Kareem Abdul-Jabar, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan. Since Jordan retired I just haven't been all that interested. I haven't even been that excited about watching LeBron. I am truly hoping that Dwight will become a star in the NBA and that he will be a bright spot in the character deficient cesspool that is now the NBA. Now that David Robinson is retired, there are a few like Charlie Ward who are committed Christians, but it would be great to see another person who, like Robinson, can become a superstar and maintain a Christian testimony.

My concern is that he is a young man (he's 18 years old folks, just a kid) who is walking into an arena where it is going to be very difficult to maintain his testimony for Christ. He is already surrounded by those who are eagerly looking forward to making big bucks off of him. He is already surrounded by those who want to make him a star. Will he surround himself with those who are more eager to see him maintain his faith, which is more precious than gold (or NBA stardom, or lucrative deals from Nike, Adidas, etc.), than they are to see him excel in the NBA?

Comments

[lightshiner]

i find it an incredible testimony to the validity of a living God that someone as outspoken as dwight howard is entering the nba. it is time for modern day christians to realize that following Jesus is not about hiding your relationship with Him from the rest of the world. Jesus told us in Matthew 5, "you are THE light of the world." how then can they see the light unless we give all we have for the lost to see it. maybe in dwight putting a cross over the nba logo another christian player will grow in boldness.

the point is completely being missed when summarizing Matthew 6:1. Jesus doesn't say, "do not do your acts of righteousness in front of men." He says, "don't do your acts of righteousness TO BE SEEN BY THEM." we are commanded to be the light of the world. if you put your light in the closet, WHO IS GOING TO SEE IT? Jesus did tons of righteous acts in front of men: healing the blind, feeding 5,000, raising the dead. i am sure He did these things in private as well. the point is that whatever dwight feels led to do, do it. paul writes in 1 Corinthians 9:23 "i do all things for the sake of the Gospel." he doesn't say, i do things in private for the sake of the gospel, but he writes "i do all things". if dwight wants to pray with his teammates or point to heaven after a dunk that is awesome; if he is doing it for Jesus and the sake of the Gospel, glory to God.

i am in no way concerned for dwight. very few christians today will represent Jesus(as dwight seems to have the drive), and if you want a rubric to measure yourself, read Matthew 25:34-46. how do you treat Jesus?

finally, dwight is not "walking into a situation." if he is as passionate for God as he seems to be, he is led by God just as God was leading Israel through the wilderness. many people thought david was "walking into a situation" that he couldn't handle but how did he respond? who was leading him? obviously it was God. i praise my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for leading this young man into such an opportunity where the world will hear of this great Man who gave His life to be with us eternally.

glory to Him.
shine His light BRIGHT!

[Lavell Berry]

I am also a player that is going into the NBA I go to davison high school and i am a senior.I am also a christian and when I make it i will always give the lord the glory. so if howard does those things I think it's not wrong but as long as he gives the lord his glory.

[hypocrite]

I find it incredibly hypocritical. This guy got a cheerleader pregnant on his first year as a pro basketball player. Amen!