Thoughts on Marian Jones…
I am still looking for an explanation of how the court appearances for the check fraud and the lying about the drugs came to be on the same day. Are they connected? In my mind, the emotional nature of going to court for either one would be huge and for both would be even bigger.
This story is a good illustration for Christians of how we are all hypocrites in that we remain both saint and sinner on this earth.
Another thought is why should she retire from the sport?
“I have asked Almighty God for forgiveness . . . because of my actions, I am retiring from the sport of track and field, a sport that I deeply love,”
Sounds like she is playing God by setting up a severe consequence for herself. Is she assuming that is what God wants her to do? Or is she trying to garner sympathy by her self-imposed ban from the sport. I find her statement of retirement intriguing and revealing. Her action is something most of us do, of course, but it doesn’t make it the right consequence.
If God has given you gifts in a particular area, should you ban yourself from it when you fail or make a mistake? If you were a doctor, the answer might be yes. But how will it hurt anyone for her to stay actively involved in sports? The potential to help others might be greater. Granted her “mistakes” were quite large and occurred over a long time, but surely she was NOT born with “feet of clay”. I assume she showed promise as an athlete long before anyone introduced drugs to her. I would think the harder (and more humbling) road would be for her to continue as an athlete and have to face accusers every day. Of course, the natural consequence of her actions is that she probably would be banned from many events anyway. But it seems to me that for her to continue in her sport in whatever way is allowed would allow her to use her God-given talents and be a positive example for the many who are still tempted by performance-enhancing drugs.
Hat tip to Mollie Heminway’s discussion of this story at Get Religion.
TK!
“Sounds like she is playing God by setting up a severe consequence for herself. Is she assuming that is what God wants her to do? Or is she trying to garner sympathy by her self-imposed ban from the sport. I find her statement of retirement intriguing and revealing. Her action is something most of us do, of course, but it doesn’t make it the right consequence.”
Your take is very interesting. I never thought of it like this.
However, just thinking about what she did, and the denials for all these years, I think it is more likely that the shame of it all may be too much for her to bear. Hence, she cannot continue on as an athlete.
When one has been totally humiliated by their actions, I would find it odd for a person to be able to continue on. I don’t feel anyone with a strong conscience could do so. If they did, that would smack me as being a bit prideful.
Can one feel shame and also at the same time believe they are forgiven by God? If the former is an emotional reaction and the latter an objective fact, I’d say yes.
Shame can be a good thing in this way- because I think it saves her from furthering her own disgrace; and, no one wants to see her anymore anyway.
Wow, I love your new look. However, my rods and cones are dancing from this comment box. Just a bit too dark for my 43 year old eyes to see what I am typing without turning off all the lights- I hope when I hit the submit button this is not gibberish!