So...Here's the Thing...

I’m a NASCAR fan. Back in the early ‘90s my brother introduced me to NASCAR through some new guy from California. The kid was a pretty good racer, took a lot of flack for his style and cosmopolitan look, drove a car with flames on it if you can believe that. He ended up doing pretty well over his 23 years in the Cup series. He wasn’t an Earnhardt or a Petty, not that I knew who they were back then either. Anyway, the new kid was making waves and my brother insisted I watch a few races – since then I’ve been hooked.

Last night I watched the All-Star race with a big smile. My guy won. It really doesn’t matter what happened in the race, how many wrecks there were, how much bump-and-run occurred, who shoved whom or who ended up in the wall. My guy won. It was a good race.

This morning I saw a social media post from one of the drivers who, in typical poor sportsmanship fashion, cast a shadow on the character of another racer. This time, though, his comment struck a chord with me.

“People say he’s one of the nicest guys in the garage. I can’t wait for the God-fearing text that he is going to send me about preaching and praise and respect. What a joke he is.” – Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr., Petty Motorsports #43.

Ok, let’s be honest. Neither Bubba Wallace nor Michael McDowell has a snowball’s chance in hell to win the Cup Series Championship – ever. But a race needs 40 drivers and you can’t limit the field to just top performers. That would be like cutting 20 teams from the NFL in August with each team playing each other team four times from September to January. Still, it made headlines and it struck a nerve.

What is it about Christianity that makes non-Christians think we’re doormats?

I watched the video. If you’re a NASCAR fan you probably did too. Let me set the stage for you real quickly. McDowell (#34) is in front of Wallace (#43). Going into the turn, the 43 taps the 34’s bumper sending him up the track. The 43 then noses into the spot, but doesn’t complete the pass. The 34 doesn’t lose control, just loses the lane. Coming from the high side of the track, the 34 carries more speed exiting the turn and moves down on the 43 who still hasn’t completed the pass. The 34 taps the rear quarter panel of the 43. Unlike the 34 who was bumped while braking into the turn, the 43 loses control as he is accelerating entering the straight. The 43 hits the outside wall while the 34 spins to the inside. Wallace is out. McDowell can continue.

So, remember when I said my brother introduced me to racing? The guy I followed for years was a guy by the name of Jeff Gordon. He was pretty good by anyone’s standards. Gordon is 3rd on NASCAR’s all-time leaderboard with 93 wins and 4 Cup championships. I’d say he knows a little bit about racing. Gordon’s on-air comment at the time of the incident was something akin to, if you’re going to make that move at Bristol, you’d better clear the other car quickly or he’s going to retaliate.

Ok, so we’re not talking about cheating poor Jews at the temple or anything that’ll change the course of Christianity. But we are talking about a race for a million dollars. Why is Wallace’s second reaction to challenge McDowell’s faith? (His first was to call McDowell a joke.)

Christians, we can take two lessons from this story.

First, no matter what we do, no matter where we are, if we profess to be a Christian, someone is watching and waiting for us to fail. When that happens – and because we are human and our flesh is weak it will happen – that person will be the first to call us fake. Maybe we hurt that person irrevocably when we failed because they hoped against hope that we were genuine (and in ignorance believed Christianity meant perfection). Maybe they are being malicious because they don’t believe and don’t want anyone else to believe either. Who but God knows the revelations of a man’s heart? Bottom line – someone is watching you – always.

Second, the world has this perception that being a Christian means being a pushover. We preach patience, forgiveness – the “turn the other cheek” kind of Christianity so the world expects us to never put up a fight. That’s so not Biblical. Again, I point to Christ overturning tables in the temple as one example. I assume there are others that didn’t make the highlight reel, maybe because John said so (John 21:25). Sure, in our example McDowell could have said, “Gotcha. You go on now. I’ll just wait for my chance to get back in line.” But the purpose of competing in sport is to win the game. Christian or not, McDowell was paid to win the race.

Here’s the challenge we face, Christian. Where do we draw that line? Who decides that some event rises to a certain level that requires we follow Christ’s teachings and turn the other cheek? If you’re Bubba Wallace, the 34’s retaliation “broke the code.” McDowell should have just forgiven the 43 for aggressive driving on a short track and gone on with his Christian day. McDowell could just forgive Wallace for edging him out of a chance for his race team to win a million dollars and everyone would have been happy – everyone but McDowell’s team, his sponsor, his fans.

I don’t have the answer, but I can tell you it lies somewhere between bumping the 43 and tipping the tables in the temple. Just keep in mind, if you’re going to retaliate, expect a Tweet challenging your witness. That’s just how it is. And if that bothers you, well…

“And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake.” Luke 21:17, NKJV

(Photo: sportingnews.com)