Thoughts on Commitment

If you haven't read the Shay story, read the article below. It is a well written piece. By that I mean that it is engaging, heart-warming, and inspiring. There are however several notions expressed which have no lasting value. The sentiments expressed are warm, but shallow. They are like a stone skipping along the surface of the lake, but never sinking in. You will particularly notice this point with regards to how the real world works, including how we interact with others, especially the handicapped.

The trouble here is the Grand-Slam theory of 'right-living'. If you pretend on a large-enough scale, everyone will feel good. Al Gore lives this lifestyle. His habits boast of excessive consumption -- large homes, private jets, and a generally wasteful attitude toward the limited resources of our planet. But, he feels good about his pretend Grand-Slam! He feels like he actually did something worthwhile at the EarthDay Concerts staged worldwide. He is satisfied that he filled several stadiums across the globe with people who care. But, in the end, nothing was actually accomplished.

The liberal bent does not promote success, rather, it promotes feeling good about pretending. As long as you gesture, or as long as you try, then all is well. Or, like Shay's story, if everyone pretends, then it must be true.

Consider the emotional baggage contained in this entirely fictional story - 1) Shay joins the game in the 8th inning, 2) It's the bottom of the 9th when Shay is due to bat, 3) The bases are loaded, 4) Shay is handicapped, 5) then, Natural Order Rules???

• Would it have been The Natural Order, if all of the boys had chased Shay away when he first arrived? Why not?
• Would it have been The Natural Order, if the pitcher had thrown Shay out? Why not?

You see, Nature has no hold on humans. We share an innate understanding of goodness, fairness, courtesy and we understand appropriate from inappropriate. These are Judeo-Christian values which we carry with us. This is how we understand the world. This is how we judge and interact with people. We cannot expect any appeal to goodness, caring, love, or friendship on the baseball field, if we swallow the pill that claims we are products of natural evolution. If the strong survive, how did Shay get here in the first place?

-- I'll tell you how...

Someone exercised more than a pretend Grand-Slam commitment to feeling good. Someone exercised a consistent, long-term commitment to Biblical principles which place intrinsic value on every human life. A happy home-life was made available to Shay because someone faced the hard dreary days of consistent training, frustration, and work to make it a reality. This is more than sentiment. This is a commitment to principles and reason. How do you get those from the The Natural Order?

The field of strangers didn't impact Shay's life. What impacted Shay's life was a caring and committed family. A family who faced obstacles on a daily basis, and yet, didn't always feel good about it. They stayed in the fight because of a commitment to principle, not a shallow commitment to pretending that Grand-Slams make the difference.