UMP
REWARDS HONEST PLAYER

Topics: Character; Children; Honesty; Integrity; Name; Reputation; Trust; Truth; Virtue

References: Exodus 20:16; Proverbs 11:3; 12:19; Zechariah 8:16; Ephesians 4:25; Colossians 3:9; James 4:17

It pays to be honest. That’s what Tanner Munsey, seven, discovered. While playing T-ball as a first baseman in Wellington, Florida, Tanner fielded a ground ball and tried to tag a runner going from first to second base.

The umpire, Laura Benson, called the runner out, but young Tanner immediately ran to her side and said, “Ma’am, I didn’t tag the runner.” Umpire Benson reversed her call and sent the runner to second base.

Two weeks later, Laura Benson was again the umpire as Tanner was playing shortstop. This time Benson ruled that Tanner had missed the tag on a runner going to third base, and she called the runner safe. Tanner, obviously disappointed, tossed the ball to the pitcher and returned to his position. Benson asked Tanner what was wrong, and Tanner quietly said he had tagged the boy.

The ump’s response was to declare the runner out. When the opposing coach rushed on the field to protest, Benson explained what had happened two weeks before, saying, “If a kid is that honest, I have to give it to him.”

—Bill White, “Child Ballplayer Rewarded for Integrity,” PreachingToday.com