Monday, June 02, 2014
Living Un-caged
Over a century ago
a physical education instructor form Springfield, MA changed history. In an effort to entertain and involve his
students at a YMCA training school, James
Naismith invented the game
of basketball. Within a few years the
game was widespread. As the game evolved
and professional teams emerged players were called "cagers". The term
"cagers" sprung from the fact that early basketball teams literally
played in a cage. The record shows that
in 1896 one of the first professional teams (a team from Trenton, NJ) played in a social
hall. Their playing area was literally a
12-foot-high wire-mesh fence set along the endlines and sidelines. They were
caged.
At the time, the cage made good
sense. It was necessary because in the early era of basketball if a pass went
out of bounds it was awarded to the first person to possess take possession of
the ball. This rule causes players to
fight for balls off of the court. Many
times even fans would join the raucous.
The result was chaos on the sidelines.
In an effort to curb the fighting, officials decided to make boundaries
a little more like hockey boundaries of our day. To sum it up, a bad rule brought out the
worst in people, prompting a severe solution - players were caged in.
A few years later
the rule was changed and it became evident that the cages were unnecessary,
however some professional teams were still playing in cages up until the mid
1920s. Once the rule was changed, and the fences were removed,
"cagers" became a thing of the past. Baseball players were un-caged.
The moral of the
story: good rules allow us to live without cages. Let me say it another way: Living by good
rules is freedom. Boundaries like no sex
outside of marriage, no murder, no lying and no stealing allow societies to
live un-caged. If we could trust people
to live by such rules we would not have the inconveniences of pat downs, body
scans, video surveillance, locked down public venues. Unfortunately cages must be created when
mankind will not voluntarily live by good rules.
This is how the
Bible puts it: "There I gave them my decrees and regulations so they could
find life by keeping them." (Ezekiel 20:11)
God's rules are
designed to keep mankind civil and to help them live in freedom. His rules give us the freedom to do what is
right and to live un-caged! Students of
the Bible will discover that the rules of Scripture are designed to give people
the freedom to live life un-caged. Here
are a few examples:
·
People
who limit their sexual behavior, are free to be good parents and free from many
diseases and emotional impairments that come from indiscriminate behavior.
·
People
who choose to love their enemies and forgive others, are free from bitterness,
revenge and hatred
·
People
who voluntarily curb their intake of unhealthy foods and drugs live free of
many addictions and diseases.
·
Those
who accept God's plan for salvation can live guilt-free and confident of their
eternal destination.
In short, people
who discover and apply God's rules for life can live un-caged.
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