In the NBA (as well as with other sports) sometimes players come into the league and before they’ve even played a game they are touted as future Hall of Famers. I remember this being the case with LeBron James. When this happens, what the sports community assumes is, that if the player continues on the course he has established in his pre-NBA career, he will make the Hall of Fame. Eternal Glory will be his. Is it guaranteed? Not exactly. Injuries could cut his career short. Perhaps he could get into trouble off the court that could cut his career short or keep him from the Hall of Fame. But, we assume that barring any of these types of things, the player will be in the Hall of Fame. So why play? What is the purpose of their basketball life? What becomes the responsibility of a player like this?
I think it becomes the responsibility of players like this to make the players around him better. To raise them up and make his team better and lead them to a championship. Individual glory will already be theirs (Hall of Fame) but a championship gives glory to all. At the same time that a player lifts his teams as a whole to a championship, he adds to his own glory as well. He can also help other players attain individual glory by making them better. So what is all this talk about basketball. I’d like to draw an analogy between members of the church and future Hall of Famers. I think members of the church come to earth as future Hall of Famers. Think about it. Of all the billions of people that come to the earth, only relatively few are born into or become part of the covenant people. Why? People must end up here in this blessed situation because of the course they started on in their pre-earth life. Just like the NBA player that arrived at future Hall of Fame status because of the course he started in his pre-NBA life. Like LeBron James entering the NBA, members of the church come to earth with all the abilities to receive eternal glory. Now I think far too many are letting “injuries” and “off the court problems” get in the way of their making it to eternal glory, but that is another discussion. Let’s assume for this discussion that we stay on the course that we started and don’t digress. What then is the purpose of life? Why “play”? Here is the key. It’s about others people! Members of the church have an extraordinary responsibility for others. It’s not about us. We have been set on a course. Born into a good family, baptism, Holy Ghost, Priesthood, mission, married in the temple, raise a family. This is the course that many LDS members were set on. If they don’t let “off the court” problems interfere then they’re on a course toward eternal glory. In another post the question was brought up, then what is the purpose of life for these individuals? It is this. Like Lebron James, it is the responsibility of future Hall of Famers to raise others up. It's about other people. It's not about individual glory. It's about glory for all. I recently saw an interview with Magic Johnson. He made an interesting statement. He said he couldn't remember what years he had won the MVP award. But he could definitely remember the years his team won the championship. It's not about individual glory. It's about glory for all. That's how we raise our altitude. That's how we get to the next level. It's about other people.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Future Hall of Famers
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3 comments:
Thanks Robby. I have always wanted to be the best at something, but most of the time I try I become average at best, so this analogy of future Hall of Famers works great. I can imagine this helping others improve is going to be an important factors in life. So I can add it to the list of things I should be doing.
Among other things that I should be doing are attend the temple, read scriptures, fulfill my calling. My problem is my desire to do this. I would much rather do other things than what is on my should be doing list. I guess I have become spiritually lazy.
this is great, I can connect with the ideology, I think it also goes back to "Does God show Favourites" and maybe he does, by giving certain people talents which they can use to make the world a better place
Dallas and Leah hit on a key point. They both used words that denote action. "doing" and "using". I think too many people, both of the LDS faith and other faiths, spend to much time talking and not enough time doing things and using their talents to make the world a better place. To keep with the basketball analogy, we can't let the game just come to us. We have to take control of the game. That is how we gain the victory, not just for ourselves, but for others. hearkening back to the "what is the purpose of life post" and our cruising height analogy. We can't just keep cruising at the same height. We have to do something to get to a higher altitude.
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