Marlins, mustaches, and missing the point

The Miami Marlins, one of baseball's, no, one of professional sport's most losingest teams of the recent era has implemented a no facial hair policy. Is this really what the Marlins need to do to turn things around?

Most everyone I've heard on the topic has had the same commentary:

"Let them be who they want to be!"
"In this era of personalities, let them have the beards they want!"

There are a few that have noted that some beards are out of control (Dallas Keuchel's name may have been mentioned). But for the most part the refrain has been "Let the beards grow!" We are certainly in an age where the younger generations are defined for their individuality, so enforcing a team-wide no-facial-hair policy rubs against the grain of current culture.

Dallas Keuchel (m.mlb.com)

It's especially stark that head coach Don Mattingly is the one enforcing this policy. Mattingly once played with the Yankees who have a longstanding staunch rule on facial hair - no beards, only mustaches allowed (which is pretty awesome that they allow mustaches). But Mattingly grew out the 'stache, and was once reprimanded for growing out his hair too long.

Don Mattingly as a Yankee (ww.thebaseballpage.com)

It's almost as if everyone recalls one of the greatest Biblical athletes...ok...warriors: Samson. Cut off the hair, lose the God-given strength. Samson from an early age made a vow to not cut his hair. But the vow was a symbolic gesture of his faithfulness to God. So when he gave away his secret to Delilah, he forfeited his covenant to God.

But growing your hair out is no Biblical magic trick to super strength. Consider Absalom who was trying to usurp his father, David's throne. And while fleeing David's troops, his hair got caught in a tree and his mule hung him out to dry. When Joab found him, he killed him with three javelins straight through the heart. (2 Samuel 18)

Or consider 1 Corinthians 11:14 - "Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him..."

So what gives? Grow my hair long as a vow to God? Or keep my hair short so as not to disgrace myself and God?

The problem with looking to the Bible for a rule on the matter is that we will be able to justify the position we want the outcome to be. And the problem with looking at the Marlins' (or the Yankees') rule on facial hair and viewing it only in the lens of the overarching current culture (where individualism rules), is that we miss the point entirely.

With the Marlins, they've lost. A lot. And every time they seem to take a step forward (spending big on free agents, new uniform, new coach, new stadium) they take two steps back (fireselling all those free agents within a year and a half, what's that crazy statue doing in center field, coach was virtually fired before the season began, and they are still losing). They NEED consistency, and a new direction. A facial hair policy is not a rule, it's a sign, it's a product of a culture shift. One comment Mattingly made on the new facial hair rule is "Let's get what we want and set it."¹  I don't think he was just talking about face folicles.

Biblically, again, we could justify a stance on long flowing locks and beards, or on clean shaven, well kept-ness. But really it comes down to how we honor God. And knowing if we are honoring God or not does not play out in our shearers, but in our hearts. We know if we are just craving to culturally fit in by longing for that manbun and hipster beard, or if we are truly grateful for the freedom (and ability to grow hair, of which my hairline can no longer boast) we have in displaying the image of Christ in everything we do, be it hair, words, actions, growing a family, work, recreation, etc.

So if being clean shaven helps point the rudder of the Marlin's ship (the fin of their fish?) in the right direction (winning), then keep that rule till it needs changed again. And if looking like a viking gives you joy and gratefulness towards Christ, then let the hair flow. Just don't settle for seeing these things as right or wrong, rather as honoring or dishonoring.

Now if only the Phillies could enforce winning baseball games!

1. quote taken from http://m.marlins.mlb.com/news/article/165063958/marlins-mattingly-adopt-no-facial-hair-policy

Adam, sushi, and sports

Imagine the first thing you saw in the morning was the very face of God Himself. Seriously! Don't read on until you really wrap your mind around that scenario.

In Genesis 2 God makes Adam out of the dust and then breathes the breath of life into him. Which means the very first moment of his very first day was seeing God Himself. 

Everything else Adam saw after that was before the chaotic, perverting force of sin marred it all. Everything was in proper relationship with its Creator. The waters teemed with fish (Gen. 1:20). Light was perfectly contrasted with dark in a world that ebbed and flowed seamlessly among its seasons (Gen.1:14-19), an artist's dreamworld. And everything Adam would encounter, be it a starry night, a sea full of sea creatures, or a tree in full bloom of fruit, it all would pale in comparison to seeing The Creator. As a result, everything Adam would have seen would have been seen "in the light of" its Creator.

Imagine seeing the tuna leap out of the water for the first time. Oh, awesome! Still not as great as seeing God.

Adam's first sunset. Wow! Still not God. Amazing. But not God.

First bight into a perfectly ripe mango. Mmmmmmm. Still. Not. God.

And this wouldn't ever take away from mangoes, sunsets or tuna, no, it would only properly place the mangoes, sunsets and tuna in their proper place: beneath God in their glory, but given glory because of God.

Which of course brings us to sushi.

Imagine Adam takes, the mango, combines it with the tuna, adds some cucumber,  and mashes it together square in the center of a seaweed mat and rice frame. The mix of colors reminds him of a sunset, the mix of tastes awakens the entire pallet, a miniature version of the rush of waking up to God's face. Each individual ingredient reminds him of the Creator, and the act itself of creating draws him closer to The Creator. Yet the act of sushi-making still isn't as good as being face to face with The Creator.

Sports can and ought to be viewed similarly. Our sports are a mishmash of created things. Gravity. Painted lines. Grass. Hardwood. Leather. Spheres. Math. Teamwork. Creativity. Ingenuity. Strategy. Wood. Water. Economics. And so on and on and on. All of which contains glory; mash them together they bring about more glory.

Still. Not. God Himself though. That's a joy unto itself.

For a lot of athletes and fans, we might not say that sports are the most important thing to us, but a look at our actions, routines, money-spending, etc., often say that sports is more important than God.

My claim here is that seeing God for who He really is will actually allow us to love sports more and better. And properly loving sports will actually cause us to love God more and better.

It's an audacious claim, but I want to flesh it out. Will you join me next time as we talk about God losing sight of Adam, idols, too much of a good thing never being a good thing?