{"id":2573,"date":"2012-08-09T11:11:31","date_gmt":"2012-08-09T11:11:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/?p=2573"},"modified":"2018-07-20T18:48:01","modified_gmt":"2018-07-20T18:48:01","slug":"did-god-help-gabrielle-douglas-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/2012\/08\/did-god-help-gabrielle-douglas-win.html","title":{"rendered":"“Did God Help Gabrielle Douglas Win?”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did God help Gabrielle Douglas win?<\/em>\u00a0 That was the question posed by Salon writer Mary Elizabeth Williams in a recent piece penned for the magazine<\/a> and forwarded by fellow saint and sinner Irene Lin. \u00a0It’s an interesting question, one that Williams poses with a bit of heartburn: \u00a0the “clearly authentic image of a hardworking girl with strong values makes her a natural icon to her fellow Christians,” Williams concludes, “just as it makes the somewhat less faithful [presumably like Williams] uncomfortable.”<\/p>\n

And to be sure, the sixteen-year-old U.S. gymnast Douglas, who is the first African American (not to mention American) to win team and all-around gold in the Olympics, is reportedly unbashful about attributing her wins to the God she knows and worships in Jesus. \u00a0After her win last Thursday, Douglas was quoted as saying, \u201cI give all the glory to God. It\u2019s kind of a win-win situation.\u00a0The glory goes up to him and the blessings fall down on me.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is something deeply moving here. \u00a0A young, graceful athlete giving her Maker the credit brings to mind associations with another Olympic great. \u00a0Eric Liddell, whose life inspired the film, “Chariots of Fire,” was one of my heroes. \u00a0Whenever I heard the soundtrack to the movie, I, as a competitive, all-year-round swimmer growing up in southern California, would be stirred to endure more sore muscles and early morning practices. \u00a0If God was on Eric’s side, God might also be on mine.<\/p>\n

And here is where I think an answer to Williams’ query can only be at best speculative. \u00a0Did God help Douglas win? \u00a0Maybe. \u00a0Quite possibly even. \u00a0But this would also mean that God let other competitors, some of whom worship the same God in Jesus, lose<\/em>.<\/p>\n

And at first glance this is<\/em> deeply discomfiting. \u00a0Scripture only amplifies the discomfort. \u00a0The God of the Old Testament, the God who the New Testament Jesus represents, is often invoked by God’s chosen people, Israel, in far uglier “competitions,” like near-genocidal battles between warring peoples. \u00a0The whole “God-helped-me-win” refrain is a pretty common one in Scripture, often invoked by Israel after they have just violently trampled and mercilessly slaughtered their enemies. \u00a0(Is anyone else getting heartburn here?)<\/p>\n

But with the victories, there have also been the defeats. \u00a0Just this morning, I was reading from Isaiah 39, where the prophet Isaiah warns King Hezekiah that Hezekiah’s descendants will be defeated and taken into captivity by Babylon- and sure enough, this is exactly what happens. \u00a0Winning is not the only so-called “blessing” God’s people receive. \u00a0So are captivity, humiliation, pogroms and most horrifically the Shoah, years later.<\/p>\n

The thing that intrigues me most after reading Williams’ article is this: Williams admits to discomfort over a divinely orchestrated victory for Douglas, but I can’t help but wonder if Williams is actually more disturbed by something else- namely, that Douglas is “so, so, so into Jesus.”<\/p>\n

And if this is the case, Williams is only giving voice to most of us. \u00a0Most of us, I suspect, are comfortable with a “God of the gaps.” \u00a0Whenever some national tragedy occurs, like the recent shootings in Aurora and Milwaukee, we are quick to go to our divine “emergency contact” with questions about why such terrible things could happen and with prayers for healing and deliverance. \u00a0The soul searching and the prayer vigils are a manifestation of this turning to the God of the gaps.<\/p>\n

And, this God of the gaps to whom we turn is the politically correct God. \u00a0Even the most hardened atheists, I suspect, in crises that hit close to home, is programmed to pray these prayers of desperation. \u00a0But when God, especially a personal God in Jesus, is publicly invoked in other times, not in the crises but rather in the celebrations and in the main of life, we naturally become uncomfortable. \u00a0If a God like this is Douglas’ helper in the main of life, that means God might also be our helper- and most of us don’t usually want or feel like we need a helper.<\/p>\n

There is another issue here that can cause discomfort, one that is difficult to disentangle from the possibility that there is a personal God invested in the main of life, not just the gaps. \u00a0It has to do with how we talk about Jesus in the public sphere. \u00a0I, too, become a bit uncomfortable when various athletes and celebrities prattle rather loudly on about their “Lord and Savior Jesus.” \u00a0It is enough to become a bit nauseating actually. \u00a0Giving Jesus the credit publicly is one thing; but I’m inclined to think that tooting the Jesus horn every time there is a sound bite opportunity, regardless of one’s authenticity, is not a very effective form of witness in the context in which we live. \u00a0Building authentic, long-term relationships is better.<\/p>\n

Did God help Gabrielle Douglas win? \u00a0If an answer to this question will inevitably be speculative, what I’m more sure of is that God is on everyone’s<\/em> side, both the winners’ and the losers’, and that God’s ways and God’s “blessings” are often inscrutable in real time. \u00a0Often it is only in hindsight, looking back, that we really can see the blessings to be had- even, and sometimes more so, in losing.<\/p>\n

I’ll be curious to hear what Douglas says about the God she worships the next time she loses.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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