Perceptions #1

THE SECOND COMING - LOUISIANA STYLE

by Norman Bales

While the world mourned the retirement of Michael Jordan, partisan LSU fans celebrated the prospect of the second coming - the second coming of Shack (Shaquille O'Neill), that is. In case you haven't looked at the sports pages in the last five or six years, things haven't been so good for LSU since Shack left. Lester Earl went to Kansas with a bitter taste in his mouth and Dale Brown decided he'd rather retire than lose. There hasn't been much to celebrate in Baton Rogue - until now.

Now there's jubilation among loyal Tiger partisans because of a Shreveport boy named Swift, with the unlikely first name of Stromile. They kept him under wraps until last week because he has a thorn-in-the flesh in the form of an anemic GPA. For a while it looked as if all the dean's tutors and all the coaches academic advisors could never make him eligible, but the unthinkable happened and the world can look forward to Stromile's slam dunks. At this point, no one knows how he will do. I haven't heard of any shoe manufacturers planning to market "Air Stromiles," but there's at least a glimmer of hope. It takes our attention away from the president, Edwin Edwards, Bob Livingstone and David Duke.

Do we really expect a tall kid from Shreveport can bring us joy? If we've got nothing more to cheer about than an unproved athlete with questionable academic skills, then Stromile's budding career may offer insight to just how much our values have declined. Maybe Stromile will prove to be the second coming of Shack, but he's not our Savior. There is only one Savior - Jesus Christ, and he's on the back burner in the estimation of the majority. Our hope lies in His Second Coming, but you can't count on it being a happy event for everyone.

. . . when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power . . . .
2 Thessalonians 1:7-9

Norman's e-mail address: nlbales@allaboutfamilies.org

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