ADVICE FROM A WASHED UP OLD PLAYER: COME DOWN FROM THE STANDS, GET INTO THE GAME WHILE YOU CAN

With the season in full swing, I find myself once again wishing that my favorite baseball team would recruit that perfect player. You know, the one who performs at every position beautifully and rarely strikes out or commits an error. The problem is, how can they get that individual to put down the hot dog and beer long enough to come down from the bleachers and play?

As we journey through life as self-declared good Christian people, what does it take to get us to put down whatever it is that we’re consuming and come down from the stands, euphemistically speaking? As we journey through life, what does it take to transform us from mere spectators to active participants eager to get in the game?

The onus is on very capable present and upcoming generations.

We live in a brave new world of artificial intelligence where machines increasingly assist us in most aspects of life. You may have heard of the artificial intelligence (AI) program ChatGPT and, with it, tried it to research a topic or write a note. But did you know from the same company there is another system called DALL-E that can create “realistic images and art” from a brief description? If you are unfamiliar with this program, try asking DALL-E to draw something like “a snail driving a racecar in the style of Picasso,” and I think you’ll be amazed at the result. 

The implications of these programs raise so many hopes and, simultaneously, so many concerns. For example, hope that AI will one day find a cure for certain cancers – and concern that without the proper safeguards, we could lose control of this amazing technology.

Because of our creative and technological mastery, unlike the laboring people in the time of Jesus Christ, we are not required to carry heavy burdens on our backs for extended periods. Still, there are times when we feel weary and find life burdensome...of no value to man nor beast. 

No machine can live our lives for us; no machine can spare us from the emotional stress, the spiritual conflict to which all human beings are subject. 

The pathetic part of it all is that some of us are at a stage in life when we have nothing left to offer to the game -- materially, physically or ministerially -- even if we did decide to come down from the stands, for perhaps one last attempt to be the player we once were...or thought ourselves capable of being in better days.

It hurts to walk up to the plate when it is next to impossible to run the bases. No apologies in recognizing when you find yourself with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning and your body incapable of getting up from the dugout bench. Time to call on a pinch hitter!

We are relegated to sitting on the sidelines savoring our hard-earned hot dogs and pop, watching the game being played out, for better or worse, by generations of our own making.

Indeed and ideally, let the young bucks of today come down from the stands, if they have the inclination to make a contribution and necessary courage of their convictions. Some will, some won't!

It is those willing to get in the game who will make a difference in the outcome.

None of which need stop old has-beens from watching with interest as others play the game we once had so much enthusiasm for. For me it has become a source of occasional encouragement, changing ground rules and style of play notwithstanding.

It is kind of a relief to know that I will have absolutely no impact on the final score...and no one expects me to have...now at my age and decrepitude.

Realistically speaking!