Skewed Reality?

Thank you Chuck Rounsaville...Embarrassing?


Ever interacted with someone who lives in a false reality? Chuck Rounsaville, editor and owner (i think) of the heralded Ole Miss Spirit, is one of those people. Year after year, at the beginning of each football season our football team is analyzed by Chuch. And the results are always the same: if we play up to our potential with a couple of breaks, we might be 11-0. According to Chuck, almost every player at every position can go toe to toe with the best in the country. His all-time greatest string of articles was in 2002. After the 7-4 2001 season by the Rebs (with an embarrassing late season collapse) Coach David Cutcliffe shuffled things up a bit by hiring Clemson Defensive Coordinator Reggie Herring. In Rounsaville's column the next week, he babbled on about Reggie being the answer to our defensive woes, he's the best out there etc. Herring just a few weeks later left the Rebels to go on to professional football (smart move coach). Cutcliffe then makes a quick hire to replace the departing Herring in Churck Driesbach, better known as Dr. D. Rounsaville's next column said something to the effect of "I was never comfortable with the Reggie Herring hire...I felt like Cut had to make too quick of a decision. Driesbach is the perfect guy for the program at Ole Miss...his 4-2-5 formation is the "cutting edge" defense of the future."

It still makes me laugh to this day. Gray, my brother, and I bring it up at least once a football season. Needless to say, Driesbach wasn't cutting edge, the rebels didn't live up to expectations, and the fans were left hurting again. The point is, when someone lives in a false reality, it will eventually cause disfunction. It causes disfunction because you are living against true reality. Don't get me wrong, every year I read chuck, get excited, mention a few of his observations to my friends....and low and behold find myself looking at the schedule and wondering how we cannot win 10 games this year. I love Ole Miss Sports, always will, but the "false reality" hurts at the end of the year.

We can carry the "false reality" notion over to life itself. In Exodus 20:4, God gives the 2 Commandment. It states "you shall not make for ourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below." The commandment has far-reaching implications. One of the implications is that we are not to falsely image our God. God is God and has revealed himself to us in His Word. Therefore, anytime we "imagine" God to be something opposed to His Word then we are living in a false reality. For example, the notion of "prosperity gospel" is a false image of God. Prosperity gospel tells someone to come to Jesus and all of life will be easy, there will be no more problems etc. But God has clearly shown us in His Word that Jesus went to the cross and those that follow him will face hardship as they in turn take up their cross and follow him. One more example of how easily we fall prey to "false reality." We worry ourselves to death. God's Word tells us not one sparrow will fall from the ground apart from the will of your Father. (Matt. 10:29). In addition, and we know than in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Rom 8:28). Nothing, not one detail of life happens outside the sovereign will of God. And for those who are in Christ, He promises to work every circumstance, detail, action, etc in your life for your ultimate good. Ultimate good of course doesn't necessarily mean happiness, but it does mean Christ-likeness. Why do we worry? When we do, we are living with a false reality of God. We are living with a God we don't think has our best interest in mind.

So what's the answer? We must let God shape our perception of Him and not vice versa. Therefore, our minds must be shaped by His revealed Word contained in the Scriptres, and we look to Christ Jesus, for He is the image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15).

False reality leads to disfunction in both Ole Miss football and all of life. Somebody please remind me of this post come September 1st. I can't wait for football season. Will the rebs go to a bowl this year. You bet ya. In conclusion, did anybody see where the WNBA team, the Seattle Storm, might be moving to Oklahoma City? Big Loss for Seattle...good grief who cares, but thats a whole post for another day.