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Posted By Aaron Marcelli on October 8, 2009

I am slowly evolving into a professional football fan.  I never cared too much for the sport before but now find myself on Sundays wondering how certain teams are doing in their games that day.

One NFL story I have been particularly interested in is the return of Michael Vick, who after almost two years in jail and a short suspension for his acts in dog fighting and killing of dogs has returned to the league.  Watching Vick play some with his new team in Philadelphia reminded me how I used him as an example in my book in chapter three where I discuss why it is that we repent.  So, because of Vick’s play sparking my memory, and since I am long over-due for sharing another part of my book with you, here is a somewhat lengthy excerpt from Chapter three:

The time frame in which I was going through this life changing experience was in correlation with the animal cruelty trial of Michael Vick, a National Football League quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons.  In the summer of 2007, Vick was accused of hosting dog fights on property he owned in Virginia.  For weeks it was talked about and during that time friends of Vick’s came forward and confessed to partaking in dog fighting events and even killing some dogs that were unable to fight.  Sports writers jumped to judgment and debated on what punishment Vick should face.  All of this continued for some time, while Vick continued to deny that he had any part in or knowledge of what had happened at his out-of-state home.

When I accepted the staff position at my former church, I moved from my college campus in Chattanooga, Tennessee, into Georgia to live across the street from the church.  Because I was very far away from my home town of Canton, Ohio and I am an avid sports fan, I tried to get into the professional teams in the nearest large city, which was Atlanta.  I liked their basketball team, the Hawks, about as much as they won, which was not much, and could never get over the fact that the Braves baseball team had beat my Cleveland Indians in the 1995 World Series, so I couldn’t cheer for them.  The Falcons was the only Atlanta sports team I was really able to support.  They were slightly above average, but all of their success was because of the exciting, agile play of their mobile quarterback, Michael Vick.  Knowing that if he had to serve jail time or was suspended, the team would be in big trouble caused me to keep up with the story throughout the summer, not realizing the connection with Vick I would later feel.

On August 27, just over a week after my resignation, Vick came forward and admitted he was guilty of the illegal acts that went on at his Virginia home.  On that day, Vick delivered, without notes, what seemed like a very heartfelt apology for every part he had in the dog fighting scandal.  He apologized to the team, the fans, and all the kids who looked up to him and his super-star status.  Sports writers and TV commentators began to immediately make remarks about Vick’s speech, declaring whether they thought it was sincere or an act.

As I heard these sports experts give their opinion on an issue that had little to do with sports, I couldn’t help but reflect on the situation I was in and the sorrow I was feeling at that time.  I saw the situation in an entirely different light, being in one myself where I was dealing with a lot of regret and sorrow, hoping for the forgiveness of others.

A question I usually ask when a celebrity or well-recognized public figure gets in a situation which demands their apology is, “Are they really sorry or just sorry because they were caught?”  Once again I reflected back to my own situation, where I was facing guilt because I lost my job over an incident that happened more than a month earlier.  Though I felt bad at the time I messed up, it was not until the consequences came about later that I was driven to a deeper state of sorrow and repentance.

So what is the difference?  Does it matter?  In the spiritual sense, is the means what matters, or is it just that we get to the point, somehow, someway, to where we are truly sorry?  It is here that I must stop drawing the comparisons with Michael Vick’s situation and mine.  Since that late August press conference, Vick has since done things that would point towards his apology being less genuine than I had hoped.

I think it’s quite evident when someone is truly sorry.  If their sins have to find them out to drive them to that point of sorrow, then that just may have to be the way it goes.  I believe God is more interested in our heart’s attitude than our body’s comfort.  If it takes more for some to admit what they’ve done and bring them to a desire to change, nothing in scripture causes me to believe that God will not do everything He must to have them come back to Him.  The
Bible says that God chases those who are His.

So despite the opinions some had and continue to have about Michael Vick, I learned something from him.  God used a professional athlete who broke the law to teach me that he wants all who are guilty to repent.  For some, it may simply be their conscience telling them something was wrong, and they quickly confess it.  Others may need to be exposed before they are willing to face up to what they have done.  Either way, whatever it takes or whatever circumstances must occur that will lead us to sorrow, it is at that point of sorrow that we feel regret for what we have done and acknowledge that something must be done about it.   The righteous sorrow God brings into our lives serves as our reason for repentance.

Category: Emotion Issues, Repentance and Recovery, Writing
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