Kingdom Sucka Award

I remember some of my middle school classmates being like...what's a dress code?  If it was hot, who cares what the Code of Conduct says?  It's getting worn...today.   They'd make it to like second period before getting sent home to change...but they also knew you remembered them Used Jeans shorts (in my middle school, shorts were prohibited) that you've never seen before and will not be seeing again.  One time a friend of mine was on his way home and said something like "I ain't gonna change on the way to school, girls do that.  I'll just get kicked out."  I thought he was too real.

Well unfortunately, Robert Griffin III ain't too real, huh?  'Cause that's what everybody wanted him to do.  We wanted him to to tell the NFL "I ain't gonna change on the way to work, girls do that.  I'll just get kicked out."  We wanted the Washington Redskins quarterback to limp on those crutches to that table with that K(no)w Jesus K(no)w Peace shirt on and just start answering questions.  But...because he didn't do any of that, us hardcore Christians labeled him soft.

I guess we have to first define hardcore.  I mean, there has to be a difference between proclaiming Jesus with an AK pointed at you....and proclaiming Jesus on a t-shirt.  So, because most of you who are reading this are American, let's use the latter hardcore scenario.

Now if we are defining hardcore or being sold-out by clothing, I think we're being a bit unfair.  I would dare to say that most American Christians don't even have clothing that explicitly promotes Jesus Christ...and most of them wouldn't wear it to work if that was against policy.  By that definition we're actually softer than RGIII.  Knowing this, why did we want him to do it so bad?  Is it because it's T.V.?  Is it because we want people to see Jesus so bad?  Is it because we want to get with the current trend of NFL-hate?

Maybe it's all of that.  And we see another spin job by the NFL...and I think we all know why they did the spun-and-done with this story.  But you still gotta wonder why Griffin really turned the shirt around.  Not so much for the sake of RGIII or the NFL; but for the sake of how Christianity is really promoted and accepted.

Robert Griffin has already been fined $20,000 to clothing-related violations.  So while an argument can be made about not wanting to add on another 10K, I tend to believe there was additional encouragement from the 'Skins and the NFL to immediately do something about the shirt.  Therefore, I think that if corporate America, or at least some of its players, have a problem with accepting people being open about Christianity (like it is shifting to accepting people being open about homosexuality), then every adult Christian living now and in the past has a share in creating that problem.  I mean, even Muslim women can be dressed in hijab, and they're supposed to be terrorists, right?.  I know we'd all like to use the "end times" excuse here, but who do you think ushered us to these "end times"?

Who knows if RGIII was called by The Lord to wear that shirt, and then got shook?  I think we've all been put in a position where we passed on the chance to hear from God and minister.  And I think we need to remember how bad we felt when that happened, and remain in that spirit of humility and grace that was given to us in our time of embarrassment.  Jesus told a proud, hardcore Peter he was going to deny their relationship three times.  Peter, called Jesus a liar...and then did exactly what Jesus said he would do (Luke 22:31-34, 54-62).  It happens, even though it shouldn't, and we've done it...and maybe even still doing it.  So just let up off him.

Besides, you're not gonna stop watching NFL football anyway.  So just get a Jesus t-shirt and relax.

Peace