LeBron James last year at this time was one of the most popular players in the NBA. He was beloved by his hometown Cleveland fans and was liked by most NBA fans, including myself. I was pulling for him and his Cavaliers when they played the spurs in the NBA finals a few years ago.
One sentence caused one of America's most beloved athletes to go from fan favorite to most hated overnight. It's a lesson we already know but it's always good to review. After LeBron James infamous "I'm taking my talents to South Beach..." comment from his one hour egotistical press conference, he became public enemy number one among most NBA fans.
Then LeBron, Wade and Bosh had their egotistical welcome party drawing attention to themselves.
LeBron said at the same welcome party that said he and his teammates not win one title, not two titles, not three championships, but would win 7 or more championships.
People stopped cheering for LeBron primarily because of his arrogance and pride. I don’t have a problem with him leaving a city like Cleveland, but it was the manner in which he did it. He lied about what his intentions were, and turned his decision into an unprecedented display of arrogance by making his decision on a 1 hour television special. He showed no remorse for his public display of arrogance. What does the Bible say about LeBron's attitude?
Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. - Matthew 23:12.
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. – James 4:10
There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes (pride), a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.- Proverbs 6:16-19
To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. - Proverbs 8:13
When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. - Proverbs 11:2
As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. – James 4:16
Our greatest enemy is pride. You’ll notice in Proverbs 6:16-19 that the first thing God mentions on the list of things he hates is pride. He puts pride above murder. God hates pride so much because it's what caused Satan to fall- In Isaiah we learn of Satan’s pride to be like God: You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.' Isaiah 14:13-14.
There are many lessons to be learned from LeBron and it is so refreshing to know that our Bibles contain not only the truth about our past and future, but the key to successful living for today. LeBron blew it in the past with his attitude and comments, and blew it last night at his press conference by failing to humble himself for his past, and admit fault for his mistakes. He had a great opportunity to take responsibility for his publicity stunts and instead of humbling himself and apologizing for the past, he said that all of his critics will have the same problems tomorrow that they do now. In other words, he has this perception of himself that he is still “King James”, and the rest of us that don’t support him are still his royal peasants and because he dislike him, we have many problems.
