Character Needed vs Second Chances

The big news this week in the Dallas sports world is the signing by the Dallas Cowboys of Terry "Tank" Johnson. Don't worry - I do not intend this to be a discussion of whether the Cowboys should have signed him or not. But I do find the discussions that I have heard about it to be very interesting because of the roots of the different arguments.

There are 2 camps out there - one is "he's a thug, we don't need that sort of troublemaker here." The other is "we need him as a player, who cares about his character." Ok, most from the later camp actually state it in a more acceptable manner, more like "everybody needs a second chance."

Setting the football world aside and looking at our lives ... which is it? Is established good character a prerequisite, or should we be given second chances? Probably a blend of both depending on what area of life you are looking at. Someone who has shady character or especially a criminal background should never be allowed to work in a children's ministry. An embezzler should never again be trusted with access to money. But we all fail in some ways, and in most areas we should be allowed to try again. What's the old saying ... "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." But how can we try again if we are not allowed to?

Or how about the way we treat our church family? Too often we dismiss those around us that don't reach some arbitrary level that we have decided is required. Maybe they are too arrogant, or immature, or "uncultured", or too whatever else rubs us the wrong way. If they ever grow enough and make it to an acceptable level, then we will decide they are worth our time.

Or maybe they really did mess up, and we can't let it go. We can't forgive.

All I can say is I am so grateful that God does not treat us like we treat each other. As Pastor is fond of saying - "God catches his fish before he cleans them." But the part we forget is that the cleaning process is not immediate, and should continue the rest of our lives.

So maybe we should be helping others grow instead of dismissing them, and who knows - maybe in the process we will grow a bit ourselves.