I recently saw this episode of ESPN's 30 for 30 show about Marion Jones. She was the star track athlete that won 5 medals in the 2000 Sydney games. She was on her way to greatness in the track and field world but she pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators concerning the use of performance enhancing drugs. She ended up spending 6 months in prison and had to relinquish all her medals she won.
Two things struck me as I watched this entertaining and insightful film that was directed by John Singleton (Boyz in the Hood.) The first thing was the seriousness of lying. It turns out her use of performance enhancing drugs would not have been as sever a punishment as lying about the whole thing in the first place. Anytime an individual lies to the government, you can be sure there will be a stiff penalty. There really not into cutting people slack when it comes to lying.
The second thing was her recovery. Although her image was tarnished and she was effectively banned from the sport of track and field, Marion ended up serving her time and eventually embarked on a WNBA career. Most people exercised forgiveness and actually applauded Marion for learning a great lesson about telling the truth and not living a deceitful life.
This caused that little atheist voice counterpoint voice in my head to say, "see, even all those people forgave Marion after she served her time. Why doesn't God have such forgiveness?" I think it was the idea that she did commit a crime but eventually the crime was just put in the past and forgotten. Why can't God just forgive and forget?
I have two answers for this. First, the crime of lying is the same for all of us. We have all lied. The fact isn't that we lie, it's who we lie against. Marion lied to the government and got 6 months in jail for it. If she had lied to her husband perhaps ther would have been some marital strife but nothing like 6 six months in prison. If someone lies against God, it is a crime against an infinite being and there for deserves an infinite punishment. The crime isn't as important as who the crime is against.
Second, God does offer forgiveness! That's the whole point of the Gospel. Jesus is the ultimate in forgiveness for our sins. This is the avenue, or payment by which God can forget our sins and remove them as far as the east is from the west. So God is most definitely in the business of forgiving and forgetting. Just look at the history of Israel to see a firsthand account of God's mercy and long suffering. It's more than an mere mortal that I can think of.
If you have a chance to see this film I would recommend it. It's a great look into the rise and fall of an athlete and her coming to terms with the deception that she engaged in in front of a national audience.
