Weighing in on Pippen vs Jordan

Some years back, the following Bible verse spoke to me:

Then the Lord said to me, “Backsliding Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.

Jeremiah 3:11, NKJV

The context has to do with two nations, Israel and Judah. Actually, it has to do with one nation -- Israel, God's chosen and favored nation, of all nation -- which by this point had split into two, due to rebellion against God and against His decrees. For a brief bit of further context, in this particular chapter (Jeremiah 3), God is talking. He was imploring Israel, who had turned away from Him, to turn back and once again draw near to Him and have a relationship with Him. Of course, Israel still continued in its wrong ways, doing things that were evil in God's sight, and not doing anything that was good in His sight. However, it was the actions of the nation of Judah that took the cake. More specifically, it was Judah's attitude. Whereas Israel had come across as "I can't help but to sin!" Judah's attitude was more: "No fair! If Israel gets to sin, then I'm going to sin, too!" These three verses play that out:

[God still talking] Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also. So it came to pass, through her casual harlotry, that she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to Me with her whole heart, but in pretense,” says the Lord.

Jeremiah 3:8-10, NKJV

Recently, Chicago Bulls legend Scottie Pippen has had some incredibly harsh words for former teammate and fellow Bulls legend Michael Jordan, as part of the upcoming release of his book, Unguarded. These words were evidently in retaliation for some words Jordan had had for Pippen in his documentary, The Last Dance, which had come out last year.

Now, I myself have commented on what I think of Jordan as a person. I still stand by it. But, putting Pippen's recent words in context brought back to mind the Israel-and-Judah complex from Jeremiah 3. They're both wrong, but it's like Jordan is Israel and Pippen is Judah. Jordan, in certain contexts, can't help but be a jerk sometimes; I'm realizing that, more often than not, he's not actively trying to make other people miserable just for the sake of it. By contrast, it's clear that Pippen has some serious issues with bitterness and holding grudges, and it is evident that he has a very hard heart toward Jordan. Sadly, I've noticed this in Pippen over the years that I've followed him as a sports fan, first on the Bulls, then for the rest of his NBA career when he was on other teams, and then when he was a basketball commentator and analyst on TV. 

I remember a number of years ago, he and Shaquille O'neal had gotten into a feud which had begun with a theoretical question over which team would win in a game between the all-time best 5 Lakers (O'neal's team when he was at his peak) and the all-time best 5 Bulls. At the time, I took O'neal's criticisms toward Pippen personally, because, well, I was a Bulls fan and not a Lakers fan. Plus, I really didn't like what I saw as O'neal's bullying attitude. What I did notice, but then promptly ignore it, out of my loyalty to the Bulls (especially the '90s Bulls!) was that O'neal was right about one thing: Pippen took everything personally. Even now, when O'neal criticized Pippen again, this time for his remarks about Jordan, I saw a difference: O'neal came to Jordan's defense instead of continuing any grudges from an old feud the two had. Pippen didn't respond, and it's probably good that he didn't.

As a Bulls fan, I'm sad. Jordan and Pippen (and later, O'neal) not only got me hooked on basketball as a kid, but also onto sports in general. These guys not only played well and won, but they also made the game fun to watch and even fun to learn how to play for a while. For a city that at the time was starved for a champion, the Bulls put a powerful dent in that longtime championship-parched feeling. Jordan and Pippen worked together as well as any duo in the history of basketball. They did so for a long time, too. The only other duo that I can think of that won as much and succeeded over as long a period of time might be Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the '80s Lakers. The '60s Celtics was made up of a group of solid players and one transcendent player, Bill Russell. Every other champion or dynasty was either based on a group, or the duo lasted maybe five years. Of all the superstar duos in basketball history that also won championships, Jordan and Pippen were the cream of the crop. So to see their personal relationship deteriorate this badly, years into retirement for both, is a pure shame. It's a shame especially considering how great their accomplishments were.

This drives home the importance of getting saved. Neither Jordan nor Pippen have given their lives to Christ. They both are proud men; they may be too proud, though. The problem is that God hates pride so much, that unless a person were to turn from it immediately and repent (and certainly repent before passing away), he or she will face an eternity of hell and destruction:

The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate.

Proverbs 8:13, NKJV

Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.

Proverbs 16:18, NKJV

[Jesus talking] For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”

Mark 7:21-23, NKJV

...not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

1 Timothy 3:6-7, NKJV

I'll briefly give context for the last passage, 1 Timothy 3:6-7. These are Apostle Paul's instructions in a letter addressed to his mentee Timothy for how bishops (or church leaders) are to behave. Naturally, the higher one's position is, the higher the standard of behavior must be. As the leader goes, so follow the people.

I realize that neither Jordan nor Pippen nor O'neal are bishops, nor are any of them leading a church. But, in the world, they have influence. They have fame. Just by being excellent at their craft, which happens to be in the entertainment industry that attracts a lot of fans, they are role models, in everything that they do. The greater one is considered to be, not only the higher the stakes, but the longer their influence. O'neal has been out of the game of basketball for 10 years; Pippen, 17 years; Jordan, 18 years. And yet, 18 years later, the world still knows their names, and the world knows them for what they accomplished. So of course each of them get to write or produce a memoir of their own! And of course the public is going to want to read it, to watch it, to consume it!

So for Jordan to call Pippen selfish in his documentary was going to have consequences. Even though, from what I could tell, I doubt he said it to try to hurt Pippen. In fact, in the larger context of the documentary (even though I must admit I've not watched it; I've only read about it and watched snippets of it), I tend to believe that it was simply part of the story that Jordan was telling.

For Pippen to retaliate and call Jordan selfish and condescending, however, the intent is clear. He may have couched it as wanting to point out that it was a team game. However, there's a way to point out what one wants to say, without taking a shot back. Pippen went on to make other comments, unprovoked, and also about Jordan. This wasn't a case of trying to make the argument about it being a "team" game. This was about pride. Jordan certainly has a lot of pride, too. But this -- Unguarded -- ended up being a book showcasing Pippen's retaliatory pride, even if that wasn't the point at its first conception.

In the end, as the game clock of life is winding down, the God of the Bible has the final shot. In the end, He writes the final memoir, called the Book of Life:

And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

Revelation 20:12-15, NKJV

In the end, each of us (myself included) needs to do what we must to ensure that our names are written in His memoir, because it will not end well for anyone whose name isn't.

The good news is that there is still time. You can accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and you can personally receive Him into your heart and into your life. He wants a relationship with you. Heck, I believe He still wants a relationship with Jordan, Pippen, O'neal, and anyone else who has participated in any kind of beef, public or private. But He also wants a relationship with you. There is still time, but it's running out. I recommend that anyone reading this examine his or her life today: are your thoughts, words, actions, deeds -- and most importantly, the matters of your heart -- in line with what Jesus asks and what the Bible commands? He requires it, but He still has room for you. He wants you to turn from this life that you've lived without Him and receive and enter into a living relationship with Him. Below describes God's heart toward all:

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

2 Peter 3:9, NKJV