Now your impurity is lewdness. Because I tried to cleanse you but you would not be cleansed from your impurity, you will not be clean again until my wrath against you has subsided. – Ezekiel 24:13

Today’s Scripture Reading (May 17, 2014): Ezekiel 24

Donald Sterling continues to be the talk of the NBA during the 2014 playoffs. And, unfortunately, it has absolutely nothing to do with the current playoff run of the Las Angeles Clippers (a playoff run that has now ended) – the team that Sterling owns. Sterling’s problems began when racist remarks were released to the media by the woman Sterling was dating – a woman 51 years younger than Sterling. The racist remarks have earned Sterling a lifetime suspension from the NBA and a 2.5 million dollar fine. Sterling took a pause after his remarks, but then he appeared on Anderson Cooper’s CNN news program to issue an apology. On the surface, the apology almost had the ability to pull the heart strings of the viewers. Sterling was almost in tears as he apologized, admitting that he had been wrong and that he “didn’t know what was wrong with him.” According to Sterling, the leaked remarks do not reflect who he really is and what he believes. Sterling stresses that he is not a racist – and the unspoken comment is that because he is not a racist, he shouldn’t be treated like one.

But in the midst of his apology, Sterling launched a new attack. It almost seems like he can’t help himself. The new attack was against respected basketball icon Magic Johnson. He criticized Johnson for not doing enough good deeds with his money and for having “the AIDS.” Sterling was corrected and informed that Johnson is HIV positive, but does not have full blown AIDS, but Sterling just continued the attack. This should be a man that the children can look up to, instead Johnson is a disgrace. The response was immediate. The NBA commissioner almost instantly apologized to Magic Johnson. Johnson did nothing to deserve the attack nor did he deserve to have some of the most painful moments of his life thrown back in his face. The saga continues, and for the NBA, it would seem that they can’t get Sterling out of the NBA family fast enough.

But as much as Sterling would have us believe differently, there were warning signs. Sterling wants us to believe that this situation does not describe what he really believes. Shelley, Sterling’s estranged wife, wants us to believe that Sterling is suffering from dementia or some other mental disorder that has changed her husband. But the truth is that these are not the first racist comments to issue from the mouth of Sterling. He has been here before. And people have tried to change him before, to adjust his attitude with regard to race – and Sterling has resisted all of the attempts. He has not appeared to want to move. So now the only action the NBA feels they have left is to remove him. It may be an expensive move depending on how strongly the Sterling family want to resist the forced sale of the Clippers, but for the good of the game it has to be done

This is exactly what God seems to be saying to Israel. In the past, their actions were inappropriate (God calls them lewd.) Efforts were made, messengers were sent, situations were faced, all of which were intended to make a difference in the life of Israel. But they had resisted God at every stage. So God had no choice but to unleash his wrath, to remove Israel from what had become their ancestral home. But God does not want Israel to lose sight of the reason for the wrath. This is not a child throwing a temper-tantrum because his will has been blocked. This is God trying to effect lasting change on the people that he loves. Nothing else has worked, so now it is time to try something different.

Shelley Sterling has pleaded with the NBA not to remove the Clippers from family control. Understandably, she does not want the sins of Donald to affect the future of his family. But the NBA is resistant. It needs to send a message that racism cannot be tolerated, and therefore the Sterling family will feel the full wrath of the NBA. In the same way, not everyone in Israel was guilty of lewd behavior. And yet God allowed the whole nation to feel his wrath – the guilty and the innocent together. And this should be a reminder for us that there really are no private sins. What we do affects those around us. It has to. It always has and it always will.    

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 25