The issue of verbal and physical abuse is a problem in high school sports around the country. As an example, a 22 old-year-old man from Polk County, FL, disagreed with the umpire and beat him up. More and more referees are leaving. A study conducted by the National Association of Sports of Officials discovered that adult misbehavior contributed to 75% of high school referees quitting their jobs.<\/p>\n\n
How did we get here?<\/p>\n\n
Psychologist Richard Weissbourd says, “I think it’s because sometimes parents are wanting to compensate for their shortcomings or live out their own fantasies about sports. I think it’s the degree to which we are becoming less communal and more tribal and more individual.”<\/p>\n\n
He goes on to offer us a solution to this prevailing problem. It starts with promoting the value of being part of a community and the importance of both winning and losing. Weissbourd, a secular psychologist, recognizes the benefits of religious practices, instilling values like sacrifice, gratitude, morality, empathy, and the obligation to care for each other. The competitiveness of sport ought to be a catalyst for both personal growth and building community.<\/p>\n\n
Scripture teaches us to use discernment when making judgment calls and to deal with our faults first before judging others (Matt. 7:1-6).<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tax_ctp_audience":[],"tax_ctp_authors":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[165],"tax_ctp_format":[171],"tax_ctp_illustration_types":[411],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[140],"tax_ctp_tags":[3414,3435,3569,3644,3726,3989,4174,4185,4237,4320,4762,5066,5132,5278,5309],"tax_ctp_topics":[396,401],"class_list":["post-36835","sermon-illustrations","type-sermon-illustrations","status-publish","hentry","tax_publications-ct-pastors","tax_ctp_tags-anger","tax_ctp_tags-arguments","tax_ctp_tags-children","tax_ctp_tags-community","tax_ctp_tags-culture","tax_ctp_tags-fighting","tax_ctp_tags-human-anger","tax_ctp_tags-human-wrath","tax_ctp_tags-individualism","tax_ctp_tags-kids","tax_ctp_tags-rage","tax_ctp_tags-sports","tax_ctp_tags-temper","tax_ctp_tags-winning-losing","tax_ctp_tags-wrath"],"acf":{"scripture_references":[{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null}]},"yoast_head":"\n