Providential Favor Is Great Equalizer

MAINTAINING A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD

Charm can be deceitful and beauty become vanity when a ‘ win- at- all- costs’ mentality is adopted.

Politicians at the national level don’t own an exclusive monopoly on using such tactics as fans recently witnessed during a volleyball match. Left undisciplined, human nature has a tendency to try and manipulate circumstances and leverage influence. Some go so far as using character assassination while trying to circumvent or bend the rules to their advantage.

Seeding At Stake

At stake in this particular match was seeding for an upcoming conference tournament. The visitors previously defeated the home team in September, but the match was a whole lot closer than the 3-0 sweep indicated. The home team’s coach indicated his girls could sweep the rematch after watching his girls compete the week before against a larger school among district pairings.

“One thing we have to understand is we can play well and still be behind,” the coach said. “We can play well and still lose a set. You can’t let what the other team is doing affect your game.”

What did affect the home team’s play and ultimately the outcome of the rematch was the influence of the visiting coach, who had no qualms about manipulating a match official while playing the victim. A block led to the home team getting the first point, followed by an assist and kill. Leading 2-0, the home team clearly had momentum and could have potentially led 5- 0. Instead, the visiting coach persuaded an official to take a point away from the home team and order a replay. The home team came back with another kill, then the visitors hit the ball out-of-bounds, but the visiting coach convinced the official the home team had committed an unsportsmanlike violation by yelling “Out.” Again, a point was taken away from the home team. This time, the visitors were awarded their first point.

The home team’s momentum was disrupted and the visitors rebounded to win the first set with several of their points awarded by penalty. The sportsmanship issue was raised again during the second set after the visiting team captain was observed grinning ear-to-ear while talking to the official with her team trailing, 4-2. The official summoned the home team’s captain over, who then relayed a message to the head coach. He was being censured for alleged unsportsmanlike conduct. The team captain reported, “Calling the ball ‘Out’ when you serve is an unsportsmanlike rule.”

“We’ve never heard of that,” protested an assistant coach, who asked for clarification after the match.

Visitors Own Tiebreaker

Trying to explain the situation to an associate during the break between the second and third set, the home team’s head coach said he was shown a yellow card. In volleyball, a yellow card is the second stage of a formal warning given to a coach or player for what is termed minor misconduct. The next stage is a red card which can mean ejection from further participation in the match.

“She called a replay,” the head coach said. “I’m already in trouble for being unsportsmanlike, are you serious?”

A senior hitter apparently was also censured, telling a fan, “She (the official) said, ‘ That’s unsportsmanlike.’ She said, ‘Do you want to go, too?’” The girl’s father wondered aloud if he was going to make it through the match. Known for his tongue- in- cheek sense of humor, he may have only been half-kidding.

Although the home team regained their composure and won the match, 3- 1; the visitors successfully preserved their No. 2 seeding for the conference tournament. With the victory, the home team moved into a tie with the visitors for second place with identical league records, but the visitors own the tiebreaker because they won 3-0, while the home team’s win was 3-1.

Queen Esther’s Example

Sports fans may wonder what can be done in advance to address these types of shrewd tactics designed to swing momen- tum? The simple answer may be discovered by examining the role favor played in the ancient story of a young lady competing in a beauty pageant for queen of the known world. Esther 2: 15 states, “Esther obtained favor in the sight of all who looked upon her.” Esther had so much favor that she was able to reverse Hamaan’s planned genocide of the Jewish people some time after the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. According to Israel-a- history-of.com, Queen Esther of the Bible is an example of how to face injustice, bigotry and prejudice.

A basketball referee was once heard talking about a key no- call late in a game, “I couldn’t call a foul on those girls, they were so sweet.” The demeanor he was referring to was authentic, yet competitive, and didn’t involve flattery, intimidation or usurping authority. This was the type of favor Esther possessed. Esther’s favor placed her in position to appeal to the ruling authority of her day. She was granted an audience and the king hearkened unto her plea. Providential favor can neutralize unscrupulous tactics of those attempting to influence the outcome of an athletic contest or a life event, such as choosing a world leader.