Redeeming Corruption: Manny Pacquiao v. Timothy Bradley

Admittedly, I am not a boxing fan. I don’t find it brutal or anything like that. I just think it’s boring. This morning, however, an undeniable discussion continues about the Manny Pacquiao v. Timothy Bradley fight. Over the weekend, the Filipino lost in a split decision to Timothy Bradley. On the surface it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal, but if you hear commentators, sports talk hosts, and boxing aficionados talk about it you’d think the world was coming to an end. The big deal is that the outcome is extremely controversial AND corruption within boxing is being cited as the major factor. (You can read an article about it here).

People HATE injustice. We hate the idea of someone wronging another. We hate stories like Bernie Madoff who made off with billions of dollars in a Ponzi Scheme. We hate hearing about corrupt judges, officials on the take, and politicians who trade kickbacks for votes. People hate corruption. People hate injustice.

I think that this is something that God has put into the heart of man (Jeremiah 31.33). He’s placed it there, He’s put a sense of right and wrong in us and when that is violated we want to take action. We want things set right. We are looking and deeply desiring someone to set right everything that has gone wrong. It isn’t just corruption. We long for redemption. All of creation does. We want things that were destroyed at the Fall set straight.

Where It Starts

Redemption is something that we long for and that we’ll ultimately get when Christ returns.   BUT we have to want it not just in a macro way, but in a micro way. We have to desire it within ourselves. We have to want the end of corruption not just in the public arena (that’s so easy to see), but within our own hearts. This starts with a firm understanding of ourselves.  I gain a lot of perspective from 1 Timothy 1.15:

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.

Paul is writing and says that he IS the foremost.  He isn’t talking about his previous life, before Christ, where he was the equivalent to Osama Bin Laden, Hitler, or Nero but currently he is the worst sinner he knows.  He knows the depth of his depravity.  He knows that his heart is corrupt aside from the work of God through Christ.

Challenge

My heart’s desire is that we all understand that we shouldn’t just hate corruption in the world, but that we hate corruption within ourselves.  My hope is that we take the Gospel and apply it not just to the moment of salvation, but apply it to EVERY part of our lives and see the corruption be progressively drained from us.

Christ is all,

Jason

Jason Crandall is a pastor at FBC Pearland overseeing Young Adults, Students, and Administration. He received his M.A. from Liberty University and his MDiv from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is married with two sons. He blogs at jasoncrandall.org.