Who would be a referee? My uncle Jim was a football (soccer) referee. Even when he wasn't on a pitch, he was still a referee. We once found him in the middle of town directing traffic. Oh yes. Raised hand to halt the flow, whilst waving drive on (play on, play on) with the other. If we hadn't rescued him, he may have booked a driver and a cyclist following a touchline, sorry roadside altercation.
There was something in him that just kicked in when he saw that order was required where there was chaos. He was like it in life. When he saw someone in need, he didn't stop, then ask for permission to help; he just helped.
By all accounts uncle Jim was one of a rare breed; a players referee. He knew the rules, understood the game, could assess the spirit in which any game was being played and adapt his approach to the game to keep it flowing.
The best games to play in and the best games to watch are the ones that flow. They can be tough physically and emotionally draining, but it takes great skill to judge the mood and interpret the laws of the game to keep a match at a great tempo.
Not all games are like that and certainly not all referees are like Jim. I don't think I'm the only one who has been walked back 10 metres in a rugby match,for questioning a referee, or has been carded for dissent. Equally, I don't think I'm the only one who has stood on a touchline or in a stand or been sat in front of a TV and questioned a referee's sight, parentage, intake of pies or asked whose side he was on. Referees the world over seem to have a knack for generating emotion in players and spectators alike.
As a man of faith, I am intrigued by the words of Jesus, recorded by a man called Matthew. He wroted that Jesus said "blessed are the peacemakers". I have often thought about what this means. Do I have to go around stepping in wherever I can see there is a problem so that I can bring peace? Do I have to be like a one man United Nations mission? Do I have to deliberately look for trouble so I can bring peace?
I know there are times when unless we intervene nothing will change. But the more I've thought about this in the daily context of my own life, I've concluded that the best peacemakers are like the best referees - they create the conditions in which peace thrives, rather than intervening, blowing a whistle to stop play because something has happened. The greatest referees and the greatest peacemakers are those who help things to flow: with a quiet word here or there, a supportive comment, a word to the wise...
As a husband, a dad, a friend or a colleague am I someone who has to be constantly blowing the whistle because I need to make peace break out, or, am I a peace maker who knows how to create and maintain the conditions to keep life flowing. I wonder which one Jesus was thinking about..
No comments:
Post a Comment