“Knowing Christ is the best thing that has ever happened to me, although winning the US Open was a pretty good second.”
Hand of frog
When Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment, he replied, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:37-39).“As cynical and repugnant a piece of cheating as you will ever witness” Matthew Norman London Evening Standard.
In case you have been on another planet this week the issue is Thierry Henry’s handball in the build-up to William Gallas’s goal that took France to the World Cup finals at Ireland’s expense.
So did Henry cheat or did he simply act according to the ethos of the modern professional sport? One former Rugby World Cup winner said that Henry had done “what any professional sportsperson would have done in his position”. Ed Smith in his book What Sport tells us about life by Ed Smith, Penguin, 2008. Chapter 10: “When is cheating really cheating?” argues that some infringements of the laws of sport are seen as cheating while others are just part of the game.
I can fully understand that in the heat of the moment, almost instinctively, the hand moves to control the ball. But imagine what a reputation for integrity and sportsmanship Thierry Henry would have gained, had he immediately come clean and helped the referee to make the right decision. He would have gained in stature but, of course, missed out on the World Cup. What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole World Cup and lose his soul?
When Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment, he replied, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:37-39). And again he said: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you”. Imagine if sport was played with that attitude. If we tried to love [play fairly against, respect, honour] our opponent, sport would be played in a different spirit. The criteria of only treating people – teammates, opponents, officials – as we would want to be treated would revolutionize how sport is played.
PS I am commenting on this as a topical incident. I do not wish to imply that Thierry Henry is any worse or any better than any other professional sportsman. I am just using him as an example.