Charles Nagy's Shoes
by Bob WelchIt was October 1997, and the place was Jacobs Field in Cleveland, OH. The event was the seventh and deciding game of Major League Baseball's World Series between the Cleveland Indians and the Florida Marlins. Like the entire Series, the game was a closely fought battle which ended up going into extra innings. It was the top of the 11th inning, and on the mound was a longtime Indians pitcher by the name of Charles Nagy. Mr. Nagy had been with the team for many years (he has long since retired), and while his performance as a starting pitcher wasn't often spectacular, he was steady, dependable, and loyal to the team. To make a long story short, the Marlins scored on Mr. Nagy in the top of the 11th inning, and they went on to win the game and the Series. Many fans of the Indians were seemingly mad for a long time at Mr. Nagy, blaming him for the team's failure to take advantage of a very rare opportunity to win it all, and many people called for Mr. Nagy to be kicked off the team. Never mind all about the good things that Mr. Nagy had done for the team over the years, and never mind that Mr. Nagy was a big reason that the Indians even made it to the World Series to begin with--all that was seeminglly forgotten. All that seemed to matter in the minds of many was his apparent failure in this particular moment in time. I happened to watch that particular game on TV, and as I saw Mr. Nagy's world seemingly collapse all around him for all the world to see, I did not feel any of the anger that others who rooted for the Indians felt. Rather, I felt compassion, sorrow, and empathy for him. I just simply FELT for him. And I thought to myself, how could all these people be so angry with him? Haven't all these people, at least once in their lives, committed an innocent and honest mistake, slipup, or blunder, and have it happen at the worst possible time, in the worst possible circumstances, and in front of so many people?
I know I have. Far more than once. More times than I can count. To put it another way, I have, many times in my own life, "worn Charles Nagy's shoes". Simple little mistakes, gaffes, snafus, brief momentary lapses in attention and concentration, that would lead to embarrassment, financial loss, misunderstandings, people getting offended, lost relationships (sometimes over a single misspoken word), and once even someone getting seriously injured. In my hometown of Virginia Beach, VA, when I was 13 years old, I was pushing a younger neighbor boy on his family's swingset, and I pushed a little too hard, and he fell off and broke his arm. I cried for days over that. There are many other examples, but the only other one that I will share here occured in November 2002 at my church, Victory Christian Fellowship ("VCF") in Fremont, OH. People who know me know that I can be something of a klutz at times, and although VCF had always needed men to sign up as ushers, I had over the years been hesitant to do so mainly because of that (I could see myself fumbling the Communion elements, for example). Finally, in May 2002, Jack Pruitt, VCF's head usher and a very dear and caring brother in the Lord and friend, asked me to help out, and after praying about it, I signed up to usher in Sunday evening services (which I still do to this day). I had some "interesting" times on my usher nights in the early going--dealing with unruly teens one night, having the offering bucket get away from me another night, and losing track of which row was which in serving Communion on another occasion (a very alert fellow usher bailed me out on that one, and it went pretty much unnoticed)--but overall, it went pretty well, and according to Jack I was actually doing pretty good. Finally, though, a particularly embarrasing moment took place one Sunday evening in November 2002. I ushered that night, and it was my first time in what was then referred to as the "one" position up front. In this position, I had additional duties, including bringing water to our pastor and his wife and to that night's speaker, and escorting by hand on and off the platform the ladies on the praise and worship team. Although my two-way radio (VCF's ushers use these radios to discreetly communicate with one another during a service) malfunctioned, things actually went pretty well...that is, until towards the end of the service. In VCF's Sunday evening services, welcoming of guests and the collection of the offering is done at the end. As that night's service was getting ready to conclude, I was concentrating on escorting the praise and worship team members back onto the platform, and as I did so, Pastor asked if there were any guests--and there was a guest in my section which I didn't notice right way. When I finally did, I hurried to our guest, but instead of handing her a guest packet, I gave her an offering envelope! UGGHHH!!!! I vaguely remembering Pastor saying something like "Do you have your ears on, brother?" as I hastedly grabbed a guest packet for our guest, who I was sure was probably thinking that we were just interested in her money--and it was all my fault! By the grace of our Lord and the staying hand of His Holy Spirit, I managed to conceal my deep disappointment with myself, and I made it through to the end of the service. Things did turn out OK in the end, as I was able to speak with and apologize to our guest (she was real nice about it), and I apologized to Pastor (who is known for insisting on excellence from everyone who serves in any capacity at VCF--and rightfully so) for my snafu (he was also nice about it, and he added that he was glad that I "took care of it"). Jack consoled me afterwards as he noticed how I felt, commenting that I shouldn't be so hard on myself. I did manage to kid about it--I said, "Well, this will at least be good for recruiting more ushers; I'll bet there were two or three guys out there who said to themselves, 'Well, hey, if they keep THAT guy, then maybe I oughta sign up'". And yes, I do tend to be hard on myself; and although I am not quite so bad at that as I once was, it remains to this day an area in my life with which I struggle sometimes.
So, what is the point of all this? The point is this: When people, and especially our brothers and sisters in the Lord, mess up (or seem to mess up), we need to not be so quick to get down on them or criticize them. Rather, we need to remember that, from time to time, we all mess up, we all "blow it", and we all fall and sin. We need to have compassion for, and be ready to help and encourage and console, someone who has fallen, keeping in mind that any of us could be the one who needs that help the next time. in 1 Corinthians 10:12 (NASB), Paul writes, "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall". In 1 Thessalonians 5:14 (NASB), Paul writes, "We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone". In Galatians 6:1 (NASB), Paul writes, "Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted". And as our Lord Jesus says simply in Matthew 5:7 (NASB), "'Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy'". Let us all remember that, from time to time, we all fumble, we all fail, and we all fall. And just as our loving Lord Jesus consoles us, encourages us, and helps us to get back up and back in the race, we need to be quick and diligent to do likewise for one another. Sooner or later, each and every one of us will find ourselves "wearing Charles Nagy's shoes"; and when we do, we surely will want to receive compassion, encouragement, and understanding, and not criticism and condemnation. And so, let us do the same for all our brothers and sisters in the Lord when they wear those "shoes".
Article submitted Saturday, February 20, 2010 & read 89 times.
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