Joshua, the Humble Leader

After the Texas Rangers won their first ever American League pennant tonight, and after being awarded the American League Championship Series Most Valuable Player trophy, the media once again asked Josh Hamilton to speak. And once again he “hit it out of the park” from a Christian witness standpoint, and he did it in several ways.

First, as the trophy presenters turned their attention to Josh, while music to one of his favorite walk-up songs played over the loudspeakers (“Saved The Day” by Phillips, Craig & Dean; the song clip lyrics saying “You saved the day/ Oh God, You rescued me”), he initially grinned, shaking his head, as if to deny silently that the trophy should come to him, one man. Surely, in his mind was the acknowledgment that his fellow Rangers were just as responsible for the award as he. Realistic team athletes acknowledge this. Yet, more importantly, Hamilton’s non-verbal gesture was suggesting that the credit first be given to God, whose sheer mercy enabled him to be in that position.  But his humble commitments had only begun to appear.

Second, while representing the team tonight on stage accepting the accolades, Josh further demonstrated his Christian humility in some other noticeable and noteworthy manners. Initially, early on in the presentation, while Jackie Autry mentioned that “there were a lot of MVPs in this game for the Texas Rangers”, Josh pointed to his teammates, nodding to them that they were “most valuable players” as well. He then returned briefly to ducking his face beneath the brim of his ballcap as if to quietly endure the praise. After her complimentary speech, he then said “Thank you very much”, gently and graciously leaned over, hugged her, and kissed her on the cheek. These signs of meekness, though modest and decent, were nonetheless commendable.

Third came the MVP’s own words. The first question for him by host and interviewer Matt Winer inquired: “Four home runs, seven RBIs. You were supposed to be slumping back in the ALDS.  Seems like a long time ago now.  When did you know you had your timing and your stroke back?” Josh’s answer may have been unusual for professional athletes, but not for him. Before a watching world on numerous occasions, he has responded with the sincerity of a true believer and the simple grace of a recipient of God’s kindness. Once again, his performance in the press box matched his all-star behavior in the batter’s box as he declared: “First of all, all the glory goes to God [and] Jesus Christ”. Amidst the subsequent roar from fans, Hamilton lifted his head and looked to the crowd, pointing to heaven and nodding, raising his eyebrows as if to say, “You know it, people. You know where I get my strength, and who deserves the praise.”

After giving the Lord the honor, Josh rightly turned his attention to his worthy teammates. “Secondly, I love my teammates. I love’em so much.” Again shaking his head in mild demurral, he continued: “Any of these guys could’ve gotten this award. I’m happy to have it. But at the same time, these guys, um, I don’t want to talk about myself. I want to talk about them, ‘cause WE are the reason we’re here.” As the audience judiciously clapped and screamed, Winer followed up: “Why are you here as a group, then? Why is this group here, then?” Josh then paid tribute to his team’s perseverance, a Christian virtue with which he’s doubtless familiar. Turning and looking the interviewer in the eye, he replied: “This group’s here because they don’t know how to fail.” Drawing attention to other virtues like camaraderie and love, and while reflectively, affectionately looking at the guys across the field, Josh continued: “The chemistry of the team is something like I’ve never known anywhere. All the guys love each other. And we support each other.” Amidst his modest words, he added, “And we love the fans”. And the fans loved him back with another round of cheers and hearty applause.

As the camera panned to his team, proud smiles beamed from their faces for their center field slugger. Then, THE pitch came. He was asked how gratifying it is for him to be receiving the award and heading to the World Series, after all he’s been through personally. Under the blazing spotlights of The Ballpark in Arlington, with over 51,000 fans in attendance celebrating, and millions watching via television and the internet, and all of us Christians holding our spiritual “breaths”, Josh replied: “I’ll be honest with you. In the ninth, A-Rod was up, and I’m tearing up out there, trying to hold it back in case he hits a ball to me. But it means a lot, everything I’ve been through and what God’s brought me through to this point to this group of guys, I’m so excited. I feel blessed.”

CRACK! Under the pressure, the great hitter took a clean, honest cut, straight from his heart, and our hearts soared like a ball headed for right field, the “right” field. In a likely refusal to accept deification, he courageously and candidly revealed his vulnerability regarding his human emotions. In addition, he “done right” (as we say in Texas) by humbly acknowledging God’s gracious deliverance for him personally, as well as crediting his teammates for what they’ve meant to him as a fellow player, for their accommodating support and achievement. Both Josh’s play on the field and his stand for morality and sobriety has earned their respect, and the players chose to douse each other again with ginger ale on the field, allowing him to participate with no qualms.

Well, let me say that, in my humble opinion, our 29-year-old brother showed tremendous poise before the glaring limelight of a watching, adoring, and tempting world. He gave credit to God first, a feat in itself. Yet, he also managed to uphold other Christian virtues such as humility, love, respect, unity, support, camaraderie, and perseverance. Quite astounding! And he did all this without erring into the vices of conceit, blasphemy, dishonesty, or idolatry. To sum it up, he followed the commands to “Love God” and then to “Love your neighbor”, and he did so humbly.  Despite nervously chewing his gum and his strained attempt at marshalling his heart-strung voice to speak, Brother Hamilton successfully carried himself in a manner worthy of his Lord and Savior. Well done, bro. You are rightly named Joshua, as you once again displayed the qualities of a courageous, and yet unpretentious, humble leader. May the LORD bless you always to testify faithfully and meekly to God’s grace in your life. Keep giving Him all the honor. “All glory to God [and] Jesus Christ!” Amen.

To watch the ALCS MVP presentation, go here:

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=12892987&c_id=tex