The Devil Made Me Do It

I'm a little late in posting about this, but when I heard it on TV, it was big enough for me to write it down.

We are, of course, in the midst of a big stir in the sports world that could have global ramifications stretching several generations from now. Still don't know what I'm talking about? Brett Favre, the greatest quarterback to ever come out of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, retired from professional football in March and now wants to come back. He can, he still has time left on his contract, so the Green Bay Packers have to reactivate him at his own request until that contract runs out.

I don't really care about Brett or the Packers, but this situation has gotten to be a joke. Yesterday, the Favres landed in Green Bay and were welcomed by a few hundred fans. Today, Brett reports for Packers Camp, which is the last thing team management wanted to happen. Frankly, when I heard about Favre coming out of retirement, I said to myself, "Here we go again. It's Michael Jordan all over again. Next thing we know he'll be trying professional baseball, or curling, or acting or something."

The guy's not coming out of retirement because he's in a financial pinch - he's coming out because he can't make up his mind and hasn't been able to for several years. He's as bad as my wife shopping for dresses. (I love you Erin.)

Last week, I heard part of a press conference with the General Manager of the Packers. The GM addressed the media and said "It's not Brett's fault that he chose to retire." I thought he was being sarcastic, but HE WASN'T! He was being dead serious - the kind of serious you get when you're called to the stand in a big trial.

Now, I'm confident that each reader has enough congnitive ability to realize that this statement is absolutely ludicrous, but I'm curious about why he would say such a thing. Does he really believe that? Could he really believe that? At what point do we tell Brett Favre to "man up" and be accountable to his own public decision to retire? At what point do we tell anybody to own their own decisions?

We live in a world where the blame game is a professional sport. From childhood, we almost instinctively muster the words, "Wasn't me" or "It was an accident." From the beginning of time, men and women have been shirking responsibility. Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent (read it here).

Part of my sermon yesterday had to do with our responsibility as children of God that comes in the form of a calling and purpose. That purpose is to care and provide for others so they are fed, clothed, sheltered, befriended, and welcomed and so that they come to know Christ for themselves (Matthew 25:31-46).

In the Kingdom of God, there are no ifs, ands, or buts - only truth. We may be masters of making excuses in this lifetime, but in our relationship with God, they will go over like a lead balloon.

Instead, we should be setting the example for living up to our responsibilities and being accountable to our decisions. I've learned that life is much easier when nothing is hidden and we're humble enough to know when we've screwed up.

You're entitled to your opinion, but I believe Brett Favre should have stayed retired. He's a first-ballot Hall of Famer who had accumulated alot of respect and an immense reputation as a stand up guy. Now that he's reneged on his decision to retire and done it in such a deceptive way, I've lost respect for him and hope that he's not still setting the example for young aspiring athletes. I hope others can see through him. I hope others can see through the rest of us also.