Rooting Against LeBron?

I am a bitter, angry Cleveland sports fan.  You know how many of us there are.  Yes, I admit it that I was rooting for Dallas against Miami.  No, that is wrong.  I wasn’t rooting for Dallas.  Dallas has Mark Cuban, the ugh Cowboys.  I do like Dirk Nowitski but the others I don’t feel a particular allegiance for.  Truth be told, I was rooting against LeBron James.  I really wanted him to get his comeuppance.  To a large degree – he has deserved this vendetta.  To throw your home team under the bus on national T.V. in a despicable way was tough. 

But it just does not feel right to root so strongly against a person, a single person.  For years, I have been rooting against the Yankees and it doesn’t feel quite so bad.  I don’t feel particularly good that LeBron lost.  If I truly admit it, it had fleeting benefits.  It felt good for a day, but as I write this, it has kind of worn off.  It does not have nearly the lasting effect that it has if you are rooting for someone and they are successful.  That makes you feel genuinely good.  Watching LeBron take a beating was just not the same feeling.  It was kind of like when I was in school and I beat someone up (yes, I got into frequent fights in high school and college) and then you just kind of feel bad. 

Bitterness is a poison pill.  Paul says in Ephesians 4:31 to put it aside.  That verse says to put it aside, let it go.  Clevelanders love to be bitter.  I mean we hate rivals e.g. Pittsburgh.  We are really nice people, but there is something to be said for having six months of winter and sports teams that are perpetually lousy.  Bitterness goes with anger, wrath, clamor, slander, and malice in the list to put aside.  It is not healthy.  It kills love, it kills fruitfulness.  It quenches the Holy Spirit.  Ephesians 4:32 says the opposite to be kind, tender-hearted, forgiving, because God in Christ has forgiven you.  I was worse to God than LeBron was to Cleveland.  I made my own “Decision” many times to spurn God’s love.  But he loved me anyway and ultimately I came to a place where my own decision was made to follow Him. 

The real trick next year will be to see if I can progress to actually rooting for LeBron!  Maybe then I will know if fruit is truly manifest in me.