When Dad Was an Umpire

My youngest brother loved just about any kind of sports.  Through the years he played football, basketball, and baseball. 

Growing up our biggest fans were our parents.  They were there for anything we participated in.  We all have our own memories of those times. 

I may not have this memory exactly right because it isn't mine and I wasn't there.  But it is pretty close to what happened that day.  

John tells a story about one particular ballgame and oh, how I wish I had been there to see it!  It was a little league baseball game – an away game in another town.  Usually the umpires for these games were local volunteers.

As John tells it, the umpire at this game was partial to his home team.  I suppose that happens sometimes, but apparently in this game it was quite noticeable.  Several of the parents voiced their displeasure over the bad calls. 

Mom and Dad were there.  Usually Dad was pretty quiet, but he doesn’t like things to be unfair either.  Our parents always taught us to stand up for what we believe in. 

When the local umpire made one particularly bad call, Dad spoke up and said something like “Come on, Ump.”   

The umpire took off his mask, turned around and looked at Dad.  Imagine being 11 or 12, hearing your Dad’s voice in the crowd and then seeing the umpire stop the game! 

The man looked at Dad and said, “If you think you can do better, then come on down here.”  John was shocked.  He was even more shocked when Dad came out of the bleachers to call the rest of the game! 

All the other guys on John’s team said things like “Wow, your Dad is going to be the umpire!”  John didn’t know whether to be embarrassed or proud, but I don’t think he will ever forget that day.

There may come a time in our lives when we have to step up and say “This is not right!”  It may be that we are the only ones who are brave enough to stand up.  It could be a situation of our children being taken advantage of. 

It could be a situation at work where something is wrong– like bullying, or someone taking credit for another person’s work, or stealing.  Will we look the other way and hope they don’t do it again, or will we speak up then and there? 

One day, we may even have to speak up for Christ.  We must always be ready for our spiritual battles. 

Doing the right thing is not always easy.  It takes a lot of courage to speak out against evil.  The song “Stand Up for Jesus” comes to mind – so does “Soldiers of Christ, Arise.” 

We are never alone when we take a stand against evil.  God is always there with us.

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong” (1 Cor. 16:13 NIV).

Christ above all things - Robin