“I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20.35
I want to warn you ahead of time that I may be stretching this verse a bit; however, the intent is worthy of note.
Today, after visiting my wound care physician and receiving a wonderful report, I returned home and began some of my daily routines. Those routines included answering emails and checking for text messages and other incoming notes. When I opened my FaceBook account, a memory appeared from seventeen years ago. It was a picture of me as I was talking to my Back Judge, John Schunk, on the football field at the Citadel getting ready for the kickoff.
We were dressed in our stripes and knickers. I think no one liked the knickers except for me; but, I’m not a fan of change just to make things more modern. But I digress.
The Sertoma* Classic (a pre-season, high school football exhibition tournament) was always played the week before week one of the football season in the Low Country of South Carolina, and it was played at the Citadel, the military academy located in Charleston, SC.
When I first came to the Charleston area thirty-five years ago, the Sertoma* Classic was the biggest high school sporting event in the area. Teams would come from all over and scrimmage a quarter or two with various other teams. This was a time when the single A schools could get a chance to scrimmage some of the larger schools with rules that were structured so that the smaller schools wouldn’t get trounced upon.
It was also a great time for those of us who wore stripes because every football official in our district (just over 100) was expected to attend the Sertoma* Classic whether we were assigned a quarter or not. It was, however, a wonderful time for some of the younger, lower rated officials, to be on the field with the veterans. It was also a time when we could get to know each other better.
All of this pageantry was designed to bring some excitement and to raise money for charity. We all donated our time and experience for the sake of helping the community.
It wasn’t long before some of the larger schools (the ones which drew the crowds) saw the money flashing before them and wanted to get in on the financial aspect of the game. One year one pulled out and ran their own pre-season event. The next year another pulled out and attendance and excitement began to wane as the festivities moved from the larger arena to local arenas. As the excitement faded so did the involvement from the officials. By this time only those who were assigned a quarter attended; and, it became more difficult to cover each quarter with different 5-man crews. Some suggested that it wasn’t worth the effort driving downtown Charleston to spend one quarter on the field, getting our uniform dirty and sweaty without being compensated financially.
Well, today there is no Sertoma* Classic. It’s just a faded memory of lost glory days. As I gazed at that picture from seventeen years ago, I wept on the inside.
Sometimes we forget the words of our Lord when He said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” We must remember that there are somethings in life that are more important than personal accolades and financial gain. We should keep that in mind as we help those who are weak and those who are fallen. Give of yourself as our Lord gave to us.
* For more information on the Sertoma Classic, see this article.