LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 15: Boxer Manny Pacquiao arrives for the Manny Pacquiao Post Fight Party and Launch of his Signature Bracelet by CIE AURA held at Hollywood Supper Club on November 15, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)Financial IQ Philippines Quick Hit(s):
Though I did not like the Manny Pacquiao split decision loss handed by the judges, you cannot help but admire how Manny Pacquiao admirably accepted the decision. Maybe there are bigger things in store for him in the future...
No one likes to see a popular champion go down, more so in the case of Manny Pacquiao who has become the modern day icon of the little guy making it big, an underdog becoming world champion and more recently, the icon of redemption.
Unfortunately we can all analyze the controversial decision of the “3 blind mice” to death but it won’t change a thing. But being the humans that we are, we all need to make sense of the “unbelievable,” or justify the unacceptable. What I noticed is that most people have focused on the controversy, or the small picture, rather than on the “Big picture.”
Right after the split decision was announced a heckler-friend of mine quipped that Pacquiao lost because he had become born-again. In fact prior to the fight, practically all local newscasters and commentators had mused or speculated that Manny Pacquiao’s redemption or embrace of God and Bible might soften him as fighter.
As I watched the newscasts and endless replays, I also needed to make sense of Pacquiao’s loss. I was initially tempted to go the way of most critics and focus on the fight, but my heckler-friend led me to ponder about Pacquiao’s loss in the big picture. What sort of impression will the world get seeing Pacquiao lose in spite of his new found faith?
Considering Pacman’s recent redemption and embrace of God and the Bible, the proverbial question: “Why do bad things happen to good people?” comes to mind. Because of our religious culture based on reward or punishment, most people would assume that Pacman should have won because he had already turned from naughty to nice, from sinner to saint. So how could such a bum deal go the Pacman’s way?
To see the big picture, we should recall how a string of victories and 8 division titles turned Manny Pacquiao into the poster boy of materialism, promiscuity, and self-indulgence. Even when he was being more than naughty, he was the people’s champ and as far as everyone was concerned, he earned the right to live the life he chose. Yes, Manny Pacquiao “gained the whole world but (was about) to lose his soul.” Not only did he almost lose his soul, he nearly lost what was most important in his life, his wife and children.
In that tumultuous season, Pacquiao also almost, or may have in fact lost his last fight against Juan Manuel Marquez, but he won by way of a controversial decision. Yes he won, but it was what we would call an empty victory. Back then in the midst of doubt, and the threat of a serious marital separation, winning must have felt more like losing.
By God’s grace, Manny Pacquiao encountered people who were used by God to shed light on the Pacman’s real state of affairs and draw him towards the Bible. What people scoffed at as the desperate struggles of a man drowning in his success, turned out to be the true repentance of a sinner. Unfortunately the world and media at large are uncomfortable talking about God and living by the Bible especially in America.
The big picture is about how God gets into the picture.
After Manny Pacquiao’s redemption, both local and international media was suddenly full of Biblical sound bytes that could not be edited out, because a world champion and an ex-champion sinner was talking and all he wanted to talk about was God and the Bible. Pacman sang words of praise and the cameras could not edit it out. He had become an official spokesperson for God and an icon of unification between Catholics and Christians. Suddenly Manny Pacquiao was living out what the apostle John spoke of when he said, “He (God) must be greater and I must be less” (John 3:30).
So why did Manny get such a “raw” deal? I surmise that in God’s divine plan, people had to see just how far or how deep Manny Pacquiao had changed. If Manny simply won as many expected, people would have taken his redemption for granted. Without any challenge to his character and his faith, how would people fully realize that the people’s Champ had truly changed? It would have been all about boxing and not about faith.
Manny Pacquiao’s unceremonious and unexpected defeat had put him to the test not only as a warrior in the ring, or a world champion for that matter. In that defining moment, he stood before the eyes of millions eager to see and hear his reaction. His loss and his response revealed exactly where he was with the Lord. If Pacquiao’s redemption were momentary and planted on shallow soil, he would have buckled, perhaps howled in protest and raised up a storm in anger.
Instead he humbly accepted the decision and dismissed any suggestion of filing a protest. Manny Pacquiao’s PDA or Public Display of Affection for God moments after such a stinging defeat was the best preaching any priest or pastor could have made that day. Watching Manny Pacquiao
With $25 million in the bank, your loving family at your side praising God and hundreds of global celebrities on your side, I’m sure that this was one time when losing felt a lot like winning.
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=816657&publicationSubCategoryId=64
No comments:
Post a Comment