When Little League's No Longer a Game

All of us have probably heard stories of parents and coaches taking sports, in particular their kid's sports, too seriously. Here's another one. Kevin Waters, the President of West Ward Little League in New Jersey, was recently beaten by a former coach (with help of a local gang) whom Waters had fired because he repeatedly swore around the kids. Luckily, Waters is OK and the perpetrator is in custody. No need to go into details about it; you can read the details here ("Beloved Newark Little League coach seeks justice after being brutally beaten by group").

Suffice it is to say that sometimes we take ourselves far too seriously. I see this not only in sports, but in the church and academia as well. I know academics and theologians who loathe one another simply because they hold diametrically opposed views about some phenomenon that most of us could care less about. I can't help but think that the world would be a better place if we could put such petty disagreements aside (because, most of the time, they are petty) and take the young Ebenezer Scrooge's advice (at least the one in the George C. Scott version of "A Christmas Carol") and try to go through life with a smile on our face.