Taking the Blame Willingly

            I usually write my columns a month at a time.  That way I am not under the gun every week. If there is a significant event that takes place in the interim, I might submit a substitute column addressing that situation. But not always.

            So, with that said, the day before I wrote this column the Atlanta Braves were beaten 14-3 in a game that was not much fun to watch.  Even after that game they were in first place, but it was a bad one.

            One player took the brunt of the punishment in that game. In the only game in which he has pitched this season, he gave up ten hits, three homeruns, five walks, and eleven runs, while only getting seven outs.  That’s right, twenty-two batters, and he got seven outs. Ouch!  Social media was not kind to him or to the Braves’ manager that next day. 

            I have a couple of observations concerning that game. First, for all of the critics, this young man was good enough to get to the major leagues.  He had a bad day, for sure. But none of those critics were good enough to get that far. Second, I just wanted to go and hug him. I hope his mom or dad called him that night to say they loved him. 

            My final observation is that he was left in that game to, “take one for the team.”  He was having a terrible outing.  But the Braves had played several close games, including two extra-inning games, in the days prior, and their bullpen was severely taxed. They needed someone to “eat innings,” that is simply to get them through that game. This young man did that for them. It wasn’t pretty. But it was important for the team. He didn’t help them win that night. But he may have helped for the next few games.

            Have you ever had to “take one for the team?” Perhaps a co-worker, “threw you under the bus,” as they say, and you decided not to argue. You took the blame, though it may have belonged elsewhere. Or, you have covered up for others and their shortcomings. I wonder if there is ever a time when we are more like Jesus than when we do such things.

            It’s not fun to take one for the team, or to be thrown under the bus. But when you do these things in the right spirit, I believe that Jesus is pleased. I’m not going to lie for you. It will never be fun to take the blame when it rightfully belongs to another (and there are limits to this). But I pray that you will be willing to serve others, even when it costs you. That’s what Jesus did for you.