He coached 409 games over a span of 46 years. From 1966 until 2011, he invested in the lives of thousands of young men, challenged them to succeed in academics and football, and he even equipped many to play in the National Football League. While many of you may not know who he was, Joe Paterno, the football (美式足球) coach at Penn State University, was a man who was well recognized and respected by many people in America. Joe Paterno died last Sunday at the age of 85 from lung cancer. Although more than 100,000 people showed up at his funeral, sadly, most individuals will probably not remember him for the great things he did – but for the one thing he didn’t do.
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You see, back in 2002, an assistant came to Joe Paterno and told him that he had just witnessed another assistant abusing a young boy. Joe told his superior what had happened, and allegedly nothing else was done. The authorities were not called, nor did Joe follow up about what happened. Now, nine years later, it had been revealed that the assistant abusing the young boy had been allegedly abusing many boys, and the conversation between Joe Paterno and his assistant finally came to light. Penn State University believed that their response had to be strict, so in November 2011 they fired their hall-of-fame coach because Joe had not done more to stop the abuse that he heard about firsthand.
Now, how does this relate to us? God has been impressing on me how critical it is that I live above reproach – meaning, that every area of my life is being lived out with a clear conscience and in complete purity. Part of that comes down to what true character really is: who I am when no one but God is watching. Whereas the other part is striving to walk in integrity no matter the cost.
Although I’m not sure about whether or not Joe Paterno was a Christian, my heart aches for him just the same. His entire life, legacy, and integrity were thrust to the ground all because of one mistake. While that may not be fair to him or his family, that’s the sad truth: our choices do matter. I’m convinced that Joe Paterno did not just die from lung cancer, but also from a grieving heart.
If our God is alive and real in our lives, what are we doing to ensure that our decisions are not bringing damage to His great name?
It does seem often like the bad has the upper hand since it takes just one bad thing to spoil a bunch of good things: one bad experience can make your whole day seem bad, etc. Wouldn’t it be nice if sometimes one good thing could right a whole bunch of wrongs? Well, there is! Romans 5:19 says something like this: “As by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one man many shall be made righteous.”