Unfair!

Philippians 3:13-14 “…forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal….”

The atmosphere pulsed with electricity. A sea of white shirts and waving pompoms invited football fans to join the frenzied echo of WE ARE…PENN STATE! The white-out game at Beaver Stadium between Penn State and Auburn—Big Ten vs. SEC—proved to be a match made in “football heaven.”

Although the game remained close, somewhere along the way the officials (SEC officials, I might add), began making questionable calls. In fact, one of the radio announcers remarked he had never seen anything like it. Broadcasters from across the country described the officiating as everything from “awful” to “abysmal.” Unintentional grounding discrepancies, disputed ball placements and an erroneous skipping of a down for Penn State raised eyebrows all over football land. The SEC even had to release a statement the next day admitting they did, in fact, make a mistake in taking away a down from Penn State!

After every “bad call,” the announcer would say, “They have to put it behind them and focus on the next play.” And that’s exactly what the PSU team did. Rather than focusing on the unfair bias, they kept their eye on the goal and pressed forward. It worked. They won the game 28-20.

Unfair!

We have all been the brunt of unfairness at some point in life. Some of us have experienced bigger infractions than others. But whether a small incident of injustice or a life-altering one, when we can’t do anything about it, we have to deal with it and move on.

Paul certainly experienced his share of unfairness, as did about everyone in the Early Church. His encouragement to the Philippians: forget what lies behind and press on toward the goal. It’s a message that everyone who comes face-to-face with unfairness needs to embrace.

Sometimes we can do something to fight unfairness in the world. And if it lies within our capabilities, we should. But other times, our protests fall on ears as deaf as those of the SEC officials when PSU’s coach James Franklin objected.

Those are the times to remember the ultimate goal. Put the injustice behind us and focus on the next play. Keep pressing on. We’ll find rewards far greater than what the Penn State fans celebrated that night.