I am a sports fanatic! Those closest to me would call me a cricket tragic. Along with millions of Australians who woke up to the ball tampering scandal that rocked Aussie cricket to its core. I was angry. I felt betrayed.
The sport that I love most in the world was brought down by a cheating scandal that ruined a very competitive series between two titans of world cricket.
I wanted blood. I wanted punishment. I wanted justice. So did many others and in that instant the lives of three cricketers were changed forever. Once the dust had settled, I witnessed the apologies and confessions of some of the most broken men I have ever seen on the world sporting stage.
In that instant, the anger I felt, the call for justice I wanted so badly, melted away as I saw these guys for who they were, I saw men, I saw humans, I saw brokenness, I saw regret, I saw myself.
Jesus said he who is without sin cast the first stone! And all I have done this week is throw stones, what a hypocrite. We are all capable of excellence and we should strive for this, but the reality is we are just as capable of stuffing up and making mistakes, we are human, I am human.
Does this mean we shouldn’t punish those who do wrong? No, there definitely should be consequences for behaviour that does not help mankind flourish, but what is more important now is how we as a community, as a nation help these individuals pick themselves up out of the hole they made for themselves and be part of their transformation into becoming better and wiser individuals.
Forgiveness and reconciliation
As Christians we should know better than anyone the power of grace, the freedom that forgiveness has given our souls, the peace that a second chance presents. We need to be at the forefront in situations such as this. We need to consider the way we respond to others mistakes.
I am not entirely happy with my response toward the individuals who were caught up in the ball tampering scandal recently, but this now presents an opportunity for me to grow and be part of the solution.
When I watch the news all I see is a world that refuses to accept each other, refuses to forgive each other and refuses to work toward a future where we all can flourish together. Jesus greatest command to mankind was to love God and love each other. He said love your enemies, pray for them, bless them and do good to them. What a radical way to live!
It flies in the face of how the world operates today. I can only imagine how different the world would be if we were willing to forgive each other and work toward reconciliation. When we hold onto anger, we eventually become bitter, when we refuse to forgive we rob ourselves of the peace that we and those who have hurt us truly need.
The road to redemption
The road to redemption starts when we choose to forgive and when we receive forgiveness. We can only ever really get there once we all realise the depth of our own brokenness. For a lot of us we need to forgive ourselves, I regret in my life that I have displayed behaviour that has hurt people, behaviour that is contrary to my Christian walk, behaviour that has not helped people around me flourish.
My eyes turn to my saviour, the One who is able, the One who loves me unconditionally, the One who loves me radically regardless of the depth of my depravity. His sacrifice for us, His forgiveness of the sins of mankind have unquestionably transformed the lives of some the hardest individuals to ever exist, he also transformed me.
It’s Jesus example of acceptance and forgiveness that we as humans so sorely need, it provides the way for broken individuals to restore their lives, to make peace with their past and move toward a bright a prosperous future. He doesn’t sit there continually condemning us like the Australian media, he sits there reaching out to us, calling us to him, willing to forgive us, willing to help us onto the road to redemption.
The solution
The mistakes of Steve Smith, Cameron Bancroft and David Warner have had a far-reaching ripple effect. Not only are their own individual lives shattered, but their families are feeling it too, total scorn and hate spewed by various media and social media outlets have seen to that.
Whether they make it again as professional cricketers or keep their lives together is largely going to be a team effort. What will your response be when good people do bad things? Will you be part of the problem or will you be part of the solution? The road to redemption starts with three powerful words “I forgive you”.
Jarred Pienaar is an HPE and Mathematics teacher on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, he is married to Haley and has beautiful daughter named Chelsea.