A Different Way

A Different Way

Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game is a book by Michael Lewis that details the journey of the Oakland A’s and their general manager Billie Beane in their attempt to assemble a competitive team in a league that favors the rich-market franchises. Beane’s approach was to set aside the subjective data—the so-called “collective wisdom” of baseball insiders that dominated the baseball world for nearly a hundred years—and assemble a team based only on their on-field performance—objective data called sabermetrics.

Beane’s desire to take away the subjectivity and replace it with game-based objective data, such as slugging percentage and on-base percentage, was a revolutionary challenge to the old-school system. Beane looked at the game of baseball and asked, “What if . . . ?” Today, many front-office personnel have adopted the sabermetrics approach to assembling a baseball team because one general manager was willing to consider a different way.

What if we considered a different way when it comes to conflict with others? Have you considered another way when you are in a fight? Proverbs 25:21-22 states, “If your enemies are hungry, give them food to eat. If they are thirsty, give them water to drink. You will heap burning coals of shame on their heads, and the LORD will reward you.”

The movie Woodlawn captures this different way, which in 1973 moved an entire city. Imagine what it can do in your life! The next time you are in conflict with another, ask the question, “What if . . . ?” and seek the different way of Proverbs 25.

If your enemies are hungry, give them food to eat. If they are thirsty, give them water to drink. You will heap burning coals of shame on their heads, and the LORD will reward you.

Proverbs 25:21-22