Happy New Year Sports Zone Readers!
First of all, I want to thank all of you who took the time to do the survey. It really helped me determine what type of sports stuff to put up here.
And now for our feature presentation:
There’s three things you need to know about Jermaine Lawrence:
1. He is a 6’8″ high school sophomore that plays basketball.
2. He is considered to be the creme de la creme in New York City.
3. His whole family is Seventh-Day Adventist.
Jermaine attends Cardozo High School in Queens, New York and his coach thinks he can be great in the NBA.He averaged 15 points and 12 rebounds per game in his freshman year. The only thing that could possibly hold Jermaine back from NBA stardom is the fact that his mother doesn’t want him playing on the Sabbath. Marcia Lawrence (his mom) said she wants him to focus on his academics rather than his basketball skills. (Sound familiar?) She feels torn about letting him play on the Sabbath.
“It’s very weird an uncomfortable,” said Marcia. “There’s times I have to leave church to get him to a game. It’s very uncomfortable and uneasy. But there’s no going around it. I’m either going to break it or I’m not going to break it. I’ll find ways of working it out, though. It will work out.
Jermaine’s dad, Christopher Lawrence, doesn’t think it’s that big of a deal to play on the Sabbath. When asked about how he feels about playing on Sabbath, Jermaine responded, “It’s tough.” However, Jermaine thinks he can get his mom to change her mind.
“Right now, it’s an argument every week,” he said. “But down the road, I think she’ll understand.
My opinion:
This is a really tough situation to be in, but this is where you have to ask yourself what’s more important; your faith or your personal goals.
Obviously Jermaine is very talented, but his faith isn’t that strong yet. God only asks us for ONE DAY out of the seven that he’s given to us. So for Jermaine to blatantly ignore the request of the One who gave him his talents is very selfish. As Joshua said in Joshua 24:15, “Choose ye this day whom you will serve.”
Understand something guys, God has given you athletic abilities for a reason. What that reason is exactly, is up to you to figure out. But remember one thing; people are always watching. Trust me, Jermaine’s decision on whether or not a Seventh-Day Adventist will play on the Sabbath will be watched and noted by the world.
What would you do?
Remember to pray for Jermaine and his family as they struggle to make their decision.
