Brand New Jordans

For basketball players, sometimes swag is everything. Now, before you exit out of this tab because of such an ignorant sounding introduction, bear with me. As with many other things in life, basketball has a culture. Whether you agree with it or not, I will try to explain it as objectively as I can.

Playing basketball in the City of Chicago has introduced me into a world where #BallIsLife. Basketball is life to many of the men in this city. There are hundreds of songs talking about how good one is at basketball, and the validation people feel through basketball is unfortunately one of the greatest fulfillments they ever get in their lives! I have seen (and felt) punches thrown, heard all kinds of foul language, and even had a gun pulled just off the court I was playing on, all while playing basketball.

And though the simple idolatry of basketball could be the subject of many blog posts, I will focus on one aspect of that culture.

Appearance.

Appearance is SO critical, especially in Chicago. If you're not rich, you should at least LOOK rich. If you can't ball, you should at least LOOK like you ball. And the most critical piece of the appearance of a baller is their shoes.

If you're wearing an off-brand, you're immediately written off as a complete scrub. If you try to come out to the court wearing New Balance, Asics, or anything in that arena of shoe brands, you have already been discounted in the hearts of those on the court as a loser, before you've even set foot on the hardwood or touched a ball. If you have Addidas, it's only okay if it's a Derrick Rose signature shoe. If you have Nike, you're playing it safe, though there are some high end signature shoes, such as Kobe's or KD's (Kevin Durant) that will earn you some respect.

But nothing will earn you as much respect as coming onto the court wearing a clean pair of Jordans. You've probably heard of them. There are MANY songs dedicated to Jordans, to shoes. The amount of respect given to the owner of a new pair of Jordans is unreal. People have literally killed other people in order to steal their Jordans, and a new pair can cost anywhere from $105 to well over 300$ and much more for other limited editions.

I must admit that at times I have fallen into this craze, unfortunately. I currently own two pairs of Jordans, though both are the cheapest ones on the market, and one I got for half price.

Tonight I went to a Big Bro Big Sis party wearing those same Jordans, and there was a game that involved throwing HUNDREDS of little marshmallows into boxes for each team. Perhaps as expected, hundreds of the squishy sugar missiles actually ended up on the floor, only to be trampled into an unrecognizable viscous pulp all over the carpet. As I moved in to help try to clean up some of the mess, I realized something uncomfortable. My Jordans were getting disgustingly coated in the sticky pink goop on the floor, picking up all kinds of black debris and hair, and generally diminishing their cool factor.

I must admit that my first reaction was to draw back, thinking, "I can't get these dirty!"

Then I was convicted of my selfishness.

So much of ministry involves throwing aside things in this world that we value for ourselves for a greater eternal prize. As I sheepishly started scraping the gunk off the floor, I realized that if I'm unable to get my Jordans sticky and dirty, then I'm not fit for ministry. What would happen if God were to ask me to give up a relationship, a habit, or a hobby to follow him into an uncomfortable ministry or situation? Would I do it?

Perhaps this analogy will only make sense to you if you are a basketball player and understand the importance of looking good in front of other people. Unfortunately, one of the things that the church as a whole struggles with today is being honest about our brokenness instead of putting up a front of perfection and happiness.

As I think about it in retrospect, I would rather have my Jordans in life destroyed, worn off my feet by miles of unabashed and relentless ministry, without stopping one time to clean them off. My appearance DOES NOT MATTER! What does matter is the glorification of my righteous, holy and infinite God.


A righteous life isn't something that we get by hiding or suppressing our own sin so other people don't see. A righteous life is the result of CONFESSING the ways that we fail on a daily basis both to God and to other believers, so that we can receive forgiveness which leads us to live a life that is a reflection of the grace that we have received.

Also, ministry is traveling into places where we sacrifice worldly things that we value and hold so tightly for heavenly purposes. The Bible says in Romans 10 "How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" It does not say beautiful are the feet of those that wear fresh and clean Jordans. It does NOT say clean are the feet of those who preach the gospel.

Beautiful. How beautiful.

I am proud to say that my feet were more beautiful to my Heavenly Father by the end of the night, when there was dirt, hair and sticky goo caked onto my shoes. Pray that God will bring you to situations in which you get your metaphorical J's dirty. What things do you value? Are those things bringing honor and glory to God in your life? And if they are not, are you willing to sacrifice what the world tells you they should look like to submit to the will of God?

It's worth it. I promise. Not once have I regretted putting aside earthly things for the sake of infinite reward. And even though my J's have a little more pink stuck on to them than I began the night with, they're more beautiful that way.