The biggest news story in the last week was undoubtedly (for better or worse) "The Decision" - where would Lebron James, NBA superstar, sign? He had a few options. Cleveland was his hometown but a perennial disappointment. The New York Knicks offered everything they thought they could (including more money than anyone else). And finally, the Miami Heat gave Lebron a chance to play with his buddies.
In this allegory, Cleveland are the fundamentalists, the strong-arm conservatives, the type of people who believe that the King James is the Authorized Version, and any deviation from their expectation (of the King James Bible) is a sin. People who leave fundamentalism might be thought of as "narcissistic" or as exhibiting "cowardly behavior."
We also have the Knicks to consider. They're playing the part of the modern church - seeker sensitive. The Knicks tried to be all emcompassing and meet every one of Lebron's needs. They were showering him with money and promises of being a "global icon." They were willing to bend over backwards and sink their team for three or four years in order to afford Lebron. The Knicks would have done anything to see Lebron join them.
And of course, Miami. Miami's premise was simple - we'll let you play with two of your good friends.
Long story short, Lebron chose Miami to play with Wade and Bosh. So in this example, a person chose relationships over money, fame, loyalty, and possibly (it remains to be seen) championships.
Admittedly, this allegory breaks down if you expand it. When you start considering James's selfishness, the Chicago Bulls, and secret pacts made in communist China, the allegory doesn't work. Still, interesting to think about, eh?
2 comments:
Nice thoughts. I had not yet drawn this conclusion. I was too distracted by the sorrow of remembering that Seattle no longer has an NBA team and no "decision" can ever reverse that action.
very interesting.
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