Josh Hamilton – Hypocrite or Human?

I’m curious as to what some of you others think about Josh Hamilton and the recent exposure of his bar escapades in January. Apparently, Josh admitted his mistake promptly to his wife and employer – MLB and the Texas Rangers. He was honest and upfront about his failing. But now, as his mistake as been exposed publicly, I hear the guys in sports talk really demeaning Hamilton and calling him a hypocrite. hamiltonMuch of the berating does not seem to stem from simply his failure, but the fact that he is percieved as some type of Christian holy roller because he credits Christ with helping him in recovery from alcoholism and drug addiction. I’ve been a little shocked at how hard people have been on him and how little grace they have for him, particular because of his faith association. It seems if he had never mentioned “God” in his recovery, nobody would care so much that he had a misstep in his recovery. But, b/c he has credited God with his recovery, it seems the world leaves him no room for grace and has no regard for his faith unless he lives a perfect life after his conversion. Does the world really expect us to live perfect lives? Are we hypocrites b/c we fail our own high standard, or are we simply human? I find it hard to believe that ANYONE keeps their own standards perfectly, regardless of how low a standard they set. I don’t think we need to view everyone as hypocrites, but merely as human. Just b/c we believe in a certain standard (high or low), does not always mean we will be able to maintain that standard. We all fail. Let’s have a little grace. God knows we need it.

About mikewindley

Mike Windley is Lead Pastor of The Bridge Community Church in Morrisville, NC.
This entry was posted in Making Sense of Faith, Sport. Bookmark the permalink.

1 Response to Josh Hamilton – Hypocrite or Human?

  1. Matt says:

    I had actually heard a couple of sports guys defending him the other day. So there are some folks out there with some grace. He never claimed to be perfect. I can only hope my friends and family will give me grace each time I mess up!

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