In Philippians 2 we are told as believers to imitate the attitude, the compassion and the love of Christ. In fact we are admonished to 3 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
A couple of years ago a marvelous example of this kind of attitude was exhibited in a collegiate NCA A Division II softball playoff game. A senior at Western Oregon hit her first ever home-run, a 3-run blast that put her team in the lead. As remarkable as that was, what happened next was unbelievable. As Sara Tucholsky rounded first base she was so excited she missed touching first. When she stopped quickly to go back, she wrenched her knee and went down in pain. As she crawled back to first base she was told she would be called out if teammates came to her aid. If she were replaced by a pinch runner, her home run would only count as a single.
Players and fans alike were stunned when Central Washington’s first baseman, Mallory Holtman, the conference’s all-time home run leader, asked the umpire if there was any rule against opponents helping an injured player around the bases.
She was told there was not. So together, Mallory and shortstop Liz Wallace picked up Tucholsky and carried her around the bases, stopping at each bag to allow Sara to touch it with her good leg. This act of incredible sportsmanship ended up costing Central Washington the game, but as Mallory Holtman said on national TV, “It was the right thing to do.”
When you look at the big picture, this story made national headlines and has been witnessed by millions on You Tube. The schools have received more good publicity than they could ever have imagined. The act of kindness was definitely an example of Christ-like compassion and kindness.
Now we may not have a chance to do anything so dramatic this week, but how can we put others ahead of ourselves? Could we offer a word of encouragement to the clerk behind the counter? Could we show kindness to someone on the highway? Could we be a little more understanding when our waitress is slow or we have to wait in the checkout line? Perhaps the place to begin is to show kindness to those within our own family! What a great world this would be if we, thought less about ourselves and more about others.
Have a great week,
Pastor Barry
A couple of years ago a marvelous example of this kind of attitude was exhibited in a collegiate NCA A Division II softball playoff game. A senior at Western Oregon hit her first ever home-run, a 3-run blast that put her team in the lead. As remarkable as that was, what happened next was unbelievable. As Sara Tucholsky rounded first base she was so excited she missed touching first. When she stopped quickly to go back, she wrenched her knee and went down in pain. As she crawled back to first base she was told she would be called out if teammates came to her aid. If she were replaced by a pinch runner, her home run would only count as a single.
Players and fans alike were stunned when Central Washington’s first baseman, Mallory Holtman, the conference’s all-time home run leader, asked the umpire if there was any rule against opponents helping an injured player around the bases.
She was told there was not. So together, Mallory and shortstop Liz Wallace picked up Tucholsky and carried her around the bases, stopping at each bag to allow Sara to touch it with her good leg. This act of incredible sportsmanship ended up costing Central Washington the game, but as Mallory Holtman said on national TV, “It was the right thing to do.”
When you look at the big picture, this story made national headlines and has been witnessed by millions on You Tube. The schools have received more good publicity than they could ever have imagined. The act of kindness was definitely an example of Christ-like compassion and kindness.
Now we may not have a chance to do anything so dramatic this week, but how can we put others ahead of ourselves? Could we offer a word of encouragement to the clerk behind the counter? Could we show kindness to someone on the highway? Could we be a little more understanding when our waitress is slow or we have to wait in the checkout line? Perhaps the place to begin is to show kindness to those within our own family! What a great world this would be if we, thought less about ourselves and more about others.
Have a great week,
Pastor Barry
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