It was quite a celebration last Friday night. The Texas Rangers beat the New York Yankees and earned their first trip to the World Series. The people of Texas have been waiting for over 40 years for this celebration.
The most valuable player in the series was Josh Hamilton. What a player! He hit 350 and had 4 homeruns. In that final game of the series they intentionally walked him 3 times. That is some kind of compliment!
He was interviewed as he received the Most Valuable Player trophy. In response to the first question he said, “I want to give all the glory to my God and my Lord Jesus Christ.” The interview began with that statement of faith.
Josh Hamilton has undergone some real battles with substance abuse. After trying a lot of different things to overcome this, someone shared with him both the forgiving grace of Jesus Christ and what the power of the Holy Spirit could do in his life. The only hope he had to overcome his addition was through God and His Son Jesus Christ and the power of His Holy Spirit. He acknowledged that.
The team also honored him in a special way. Normally teams break out champagne to celebrate. In respect to helping Josh not to succumb to the temptation of alcohol, the team used Ginger Ale instead of champagne. That is what you call team consideration. That is a team!
When Josh Hamilton was asked about his accomplishments, he said, “Let’s don’t talk about me. Let’s talk about the team. This was a team effort.” He then talked a lot about chemistry and team work and togetherness and how everybody loved each other.
The basis for success for any organization – sports, business, church, etc. is the ability of the people who are part of it to be a team, have good chemistry in allowing each person to exercise their specific gifts, and doing it together. Read I Corinthians 12.
I hope the spirit of Josh Hamilton will spread like an epidemic throughout Texas and the baseball world. He has it right! He and the Rangers gave a new Texas slant to Friday Night Lights!
Please pass the Ginger Ale!!
