What the NBA Taught Me About God

The NBA has clarified for me one of God’s more imponderable mysteries: Why it is that we undergo suffering and death?

NBA? The Newhope Bible Alliance? No. The National Basketball Assn.--that league of insolent, loutish millionaires.

A few years ago, a Southern California columnist sanctimoniously railed against God. He declared that he could no longer countenance a deity who would allow human injustice and tragedy. He swore not to accept the tenet that “God works in mysterious ways.”

I share his angst. The question of suffering and death is, at best, perplexing. But as a Christian, I hold to the idea that the omnipotent creator of the universe has established things according to his purposes, not mine. In this corner of creation, free will exists, and bad outcomes are a frequent result.

Choices have consequences. I’ve also discovered that life’s uncertainties can inspire largess and character. For many, it’s during times of affliction that they’re drawn to the transcendent.

I’m not suggesting that it is God who inflicts catastrophe; we’re perfectly capable of doing that ourselves. But the author of life often uses tragedy to command our attention.

*

Do not stay so far from me, for trouble is near, and no one else can help me.

--Psalms 22:11

*

Though it’s an uncomfortable notion to embrace, adversity and death infuse life with meaning. What if it were possible for me not to have to worry about a thing--a potential loss of a loved one, debilitating illness or premature death? What if I were guaranteed hundreds of years of stress-free existence, followed by a tranquil departure?

Attributes that ennoble would evaporate like the morning mist. Compassion, charity and empathy? Gone. Our futures assured, we’d become even more self-possessed than we already are.

*

Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered, and that my life is fleeing away.

--Psalms 39:4

*

A number of years ago, while on vacation in a tiny burg in the Pacific Northwest, I heard a pastor draw a comparison between our lives and an NBA basketball game. Though it seemed a stretch at first, it made sense.

What makes NBA basketball such a great game? Great players? Brilliant strategy? Last-second shots? All of the above.

But the game is what it is because of one simple factor: a time clock. Players have just 48 minutes on any given night.

My son-in-law recently took me to a Lakers game. There, bedecked in purple and gold, were the heroes of our age, Shaq and Kobe. The duo turned in a spectacular performance, and the Lakers mounted a stirring fourth-quarter rally to win.

I thought of that pastor’s analogy. For Shaq and Kobe, the game was unscripted. Spontaneity flourished and danger lurked. The one thing that kept them on task all night was the unforgiving scoreboard clock hanging above the floor.

What if NBA commissioner David Stern had suspended the rules for the evening? What if the scoreboard were turned off and the game permitted to last as long as the players wished?

Without external urgency, the game would have devolved into selfish one-on-one forays, half-court shooting demonstrations and monster dunks. Fans would have delighted in the display--for a while. But with the game lacking direction, the crowd soon would have grown weary and headed for the exits.

The above-mentioned columnist, who cynically used his essay to question God’s existence, wishes for a divine concierge to step forward at appropriate moments to prevent natural calamities and rescue us from our misadventures.

As a follower of Jesus Christ, I serve a magnificent being who’s both compassionate and a respecter of individual freedom. He established the game’s rules and sets the time clock; then steps aside to allow us to play.

The risks--and stakes--are high. But there’s never a “shadow of turning” in him. God tenderly responds to each who call out to him. I lost my son a few years ago; God couldn’t have been closer.

*

I am poor and needy, but the Lord is thinking about me right now. You are my helper and my savior.

--Psalms 40:17

*

“Prone to wander” is a lyric to a time-honored hymn. I stray repeatedly, but it is life’s apparent capriciousness that keeps me on a leash. The dangers we face daily and my own enormous deficiencies point me to the one who is immutable and eternal.

*

On Faith is a forum for Orange County clergy and others to offer their views on religious topics of general interest. Submissions, which will be published at the discretion of The Times and are subject to editing, should be delivered to Orange County religion page editor William Lobdell.