Of Tamper And Hamper!!!

Of Tamper and Hamper

It’s buzzing in the media! The video depicting the moral bankruptcy of the Aussie Cricketer Bancroft in first tampering with the ball with “yellow tape” (sandpaper?) and then shamelessly tucking it in his inner garments out of fear of getting caught has gone viral in the social media. The authorities have responded. Bans of varying periods have imposed on Bancroft and the “leadership group” (Captain Smith and Vice-captain Warner) for having not only “soiled their hands” in this unsavory episode but also for “soiling” the fair image of the game of Cricket, at large. While the malaise of "Ball tampering" has been in existence since the pace bowlers of Pakistan like Sarfaraz Nawaz would make the ball "talk" as it were, it is only with the advent of hi-tech "all-seeing" cameras' that this illegal practice is being now "caught on camera". So it's not at all surprising when an old practioner of reverse swing like Waqar Younis says "Don't tell me this is happening for the first time..."

While comments of the Pak pacer like these tantamount to the pot calling the kettle black (considering the tainted image of Pak fast bowlers in the matter of ball-tampering) they also bring to the fore apparently a new twist to the governing principle of Law which states that "all are innocent till proven guilty". From now on (funnily speaking) should it be "all pace bowlers are guilty till they are proven innocent"? The debate rages on in the media and we would not hear the last of it for quite some time.

Ah the on-field cameras…but for them this act of tampering would have gone unnoticed! While the advances in development of technology especially in the sphere of cameras’ may still result in some “illicit” practices in the Cricket field going undetected, there is no doubt at all that the eyes of the omniscient God (time we get to the spiritual realm) would never miss the acts of those who tamper with His commands.

Did Smith and co. in their “moment of madness” (aiming to win at all costs) ever envisage how this “tamper” case would seriously “hamper” the progress of their Cricketing careers? Now with bans going into effect there is not only heavy commercial loss (Warner and Smith have been “dumped” by their respective IPL teams besides by other sponsors also) to be endured but also the tag-line “cheat” would haunt them for the rest of their lives. This trio-obviously nominal Christians-would do well to repent and seek Christ’s inimitable forgiveness to live with the “clear conscience” for the rest of their lives (Heb 9:13-14).

In this message, Yours Truly is inspired to share some Biblical incidents where one would see how the omniscient God has justly judged covert sinful acts of some who in their “moment of indiscretion” thought they could get away with their “secret tampering of God’s Laws”. Of course, I would end this message by focusing also on how the omniscient God also rewards charity done faraway from public gaze.

Pilfer…

For the Jews under the leadership of Joshua, in the larger mission of “Conquest of Canaan”, the first part (permit me to use some military lingo) namely “Operation Jericho annihilation” symbolized consecration of “First Fruits” (Deu 18:4). As such, they were commanded not to take home any war booty of gold or silver or any valuable items but rather bring the same to Lord’s treasury (Joshua 6:19). Yes, the spoils of the subsequent wars would be entirely theirs (Joshua 8:2) but that of Jericho was the sole preserve of the Lord. The moot point here is… were they entirely obedient to the Divine command? No!!! At least not one avaricious individual Achan (Joshua 7:1-23) and his family members who were obviously hand in glove with the main perpetrator in this “tampering” (of the Divine command) as can be gauged by the fact that Divine comeuppance came upon all of them (Joshua 7:23-24)!!!

The point to be underscored is that while Achan could pull wool over the eyes of the Whole nation of Israel, he could not do the same with the omniscient God (Heb 4:13).

Beware child of God, let obedience borne out of the reverential fear rule the roost in your life. For any secret sin is bound to catch-up with the offenders one day or the other (Numbers 32:23).

Poach…

King David’s lethargy in not accompanying his soldiers to the battle led him to the wrong place at the wrong time resulting in poaching of yet another man’s wife with calamitous consequences. Welcome to the tragic David-Bathsheba adulterous story once again (2 Sam 12)!

There is a lesson to be had within the lesson here. I intend to hit the loop line at this stage. Imagine David ever falling to the trap of the lust of the eyes/flesh say when he as a fugitive was constantly on the run pursued by murderous King Saul. No way!!! His tribulations kept him spiritually smart and alert at all times (Rom 5:3-4). The moment, his difficulties seized (with the departure of King Saul) and the cool cozy comforts of the royal palace arrived, lethargy with its attendant problems was waiting at the royal gates, so to speak to take control over him leading to oh-so-painful consequences in his life.