THOUGHTS ON DAMAR HAMLIN

Like many of you, I was among the millions watching the game between the Bengals and Bills last Monday, January 2nd, and couldn’t believe what I saw. I saw both teams and coaching staffs kneeling on the field in prayer as Damar Hamlin (a Buffalo Bills player) had gotten up after making a tackle only to fall back onto the ground. There was a unity on the field that you don’t often see, and I don’t ever remember seeing a game stopped and then eventually canceled because of one player being injured. We would all find out later that he had suffered cardiac arrest and that it wasn’t the typical injury – but rather he was in a fight for his life.

Now over a week later, we are all very thankful that he is recovering back in Buffalo with a good prognosis. It has been amazing to see teammates, players from other teams, his coaches, ESPN network announcers and analysts and fans talking about praying for Damar and thanking God that he is now recovering.

But this brings me to a few thoughts on this situation. As I read on social media, some are very upset that people were talking about prayer and God concerning what had happened to Damar. Some felt too much credit was being given to God for saving his life and since then, for his recovery. Some felt this took away from the medical emergency workers and trainers that performed CPR and other life-saving intervention techniques.

But here is the thing, those most involved including teammates, the Bills head coach, Sean McDermott, other players, as well as Damar Hamlin and his mom, all who gave glory to God for his life being saved, also gave praise and thanks to all of the medical emergency workers, trainers and the hospital staffs both in Cincinnati and Buffalo. It seems to me that the stage is big enough to give thanks and recognize both God and the medical professionals for saving his life. While we might live in an either-or world, is there not room to recognize God as the one who has given the gifts, abilities and skills to the medical professionals and to be very thankful for medical professionals who have gone through extensive training, deal with life and death everyday (a very draining job) and who put their own lives on the line each and every day?

At Harmony Church, we have emergency workers including fire, police and nurses. We and others give thanks for them but we also recognize their abilities to do the things they do came from God. We know them well enough to know they work hard and train hard for emergency situations, but without God first giving them the abilities and physical and mental well-being, they would not be able to perform the feats necessary to save lives. These people themselves acknowledge God as the source of their strength and abilities.

The bible talks extensively about God being the creator and endowing each of us with special and unique gifts to serve both in the church and in the world. Is it any different from when we admire a great singer, our kid’s favorite school teacher or a brilliant scientist to thank God for the amazing gifts and skills they possess?

On the other hand, if you don’t believe in God and don’t think there is any creator behind creation, you certainly have the right to think that. God gives you that option. He doesn’t force anyone to believe in Him or follow Him. If this is you, then you can simply cut through all of the God-talk and simply give thanks for the medical professionals who saved Damar’s life. At the human level, this still shows great appreciation for the medical professionals as well as for human life.

Here is where I have a bigger problem with some people on social media concerning the Damar Hamlin story. There are those who are blaming God for what happened to Damar on the field that night while at the same time giving God no credit for his unbelievable recovery because it was uncertain for at least 24 hours or more as to whether he would live or not.

This is different from those who state that what happened to Damar was simply the risk of playing football at the NFL level. Cardiac arrest is also something that happens to many people who have never played football. These same people are giving thanks to God for both the medical intervention and to God for saving his life and helping him get on the road to recovery.

Then there are others who don’t believe in God so they are neither blaming God for his cardiac arrest nor are they giving God credit for his recovery.

Both of these make sense to me. While I don’t agree with those who don’t believe in God, at least they are consistent. They are doing some critical thinking and being true to their worldview. The perspective that is troubling and doesn’t make any sense to me is those who are blaming God for his cardiac arrest and not acknowledging God for his recovery. Think about it! This isn’t consistent or critical thinking. You can’t have it both ways. You can’t blame God for the bad in this story and then not give Him thanks for the good. I mean you can, but the more I think about it, the only way this perspective makes any sense is for these people to believe God is so bad, that He only wants to bring harm or punishment to people and no relief or help.

So in conclusion, I would ask you, if you do believe in God, what is your view of God? And who is your God?

You may want to read and think more about what Damar himself has been saying in recent days about his situation: He is grateful to all of the medical professionals who have worked to save his life…He is thankful for the many prayers and support from people all over the world…He is praising God for saving his life and helping him be on the road to recovery…and he has also been saying that his purpose in life is much bigger than football. It seems to me that he is hoping to be used as a light to lead others to know the good God who has saved him from a catastrophic event to find deeper meaning for his life. Perhaps this same God can help to save you as you lean into Him and help you find a greater purpose for your life.