Pitino, Sin, and Me
Let me start by saying I'm a Kentucky fan through and through. I bleed blue. The next best thing to a Kentucky win is a Louisville loss. I don't like Rick Pitino and if I'm honest I've probably enjoyed seeing Louisville spiral into a train wreck a little too much, which is why what I'm about to say is necessary.
It was announced yesterday that Rick Pitino will essentially be fired from the University of Louisville as the head basketball coach. There have been numerous scandals under Pitino's tenure as the Cards basketball coach and this is not a blog post to blast him or them. Instead, I'd like to invite you to look with me at our own hearts. I'd like us to think together about integrity.
Most of us won't have the kind of platform Rick Pitino has. We won't be in the public like Rick is. However, we all have one thing in common. At the core of it, we are sinners. Our hearts are deceitful. We can easily deceive ourselves and make mistakes. When something like this happens, I believe we all have an invitation to examine ourselves, at least that's what I find myself doing as I think more and more about all the people involved in this sports investigation.
The truth of the matter is that when you strip us down to our most basic selves, I'm no different from Rick Pitino. At the core of it, we're both human and we're both sinners. In fact, I know myself better than Rick Pitino and I know just how sinful I am. Spoiler Alert: it's a lot!
At the end of the day, my only hope is that Jesus saved me and the Holy Spirit keeps me. I'm no better than anyone. I'm totally dependent on Jesus' substitution for my sins. I have no room to condemn Pitino. I think without Christ, I could easily find myself in his shoes (on a smaller scale of course). This is why I must desperately cling to Christ.
Jean F. Larroux III said, "If the biggest sinner you know isn't you, then you don't know yourself very well." I couldn't agree with this more. That's why when something like this happens I think we all have an invitation to examine ourselves and ask, "Where is sin creeping into my own life? Where have I compromised just a little? What is at the root of my heart? Where do I need to be more desperately clinging to Christ?"
Christians will never completely escape sin while we live on this earth, but we are called to fight it with everything we have. We are called to look like our Savior. We are called to put all of our hope in Christ. Instead of taking joy in someone else's downfall, let's examine ourselves. John Owen famously said, "Be killing sin or it will be killing you."
