UPSTAGING
THE UMPIRE

Topics: Authority; Judgment; Law; Morality; Power

References: 1 Corinthians 3:10–15; 2 Corinthians 5:10

In Cuba baseball rules, except when Fidel Castro, Cuba’s former dictator, would go up to bat.

During an exhibition game against Venezuela, the Cuban dictator grabbed an aluminum bat and walked to the plate. Not to be outdone, the president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, went to the pitcher’s mound.

The first pitch didn’t even reach the plate. Castro kept his bat on his shoulder. The next pitch was over the plate, and Castro swung and missed. A couple more balls and an attempted bunt later, the two heads of state were locked in a full count. Castro watched the 3–2 pitch sail through the middle of the strike zone and listened as the umpire called him out.

“No,” Castro said. “That was a ball.” He took first base. No one argued. Chavez said nothing. The opposing team said nothing, and the umpire said nothing. Later Castro joked, “Today just wasn’t Chavez’s day.”

It’s hard to get a batter out when he has the power to overrule the umpire’s calls. In God’s economy, dictators can’t do that. Everyone will face God’s ultimate judgment, whose word will be final.

—Jim Wilson, “Fidel Castro Plays Baseball,” PreachingToday.com