Repetition, Repetition, Repetition

Repetition, Repetition, Repetition

Bubba Crosby played Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees in the early 2000s. He was drafted out of Rice University by the Los Angeles Dodgers and was later traded to the Yankees. After his time in New York, his most successful time in the big leagues, Crosby went to Cincinnati and later retired in spring training with the Seattle Mariners.

When I had the chance to interview Crosby for my radio show, we talked about his time in New York and what it was like playing with guys like Johnny Damon, Alex Rodriguez, and Derek Jeter. He looked back on that time with great affection and then said something that surprised me. When I asked him to name one of the biggest lessons he learned when in New York, he answered, “The importance of fundamentals.”

Crosby went on to note how Alex Rodriguez was a workhorse, daily hitting off the tee, then heading to the cage, and then going to batting practice. He said that Rodriguez took hours of ground balls day in and day out. Repetition, repetition, repetition.

We’ve all needed to have something repeated, whether it was because we didn’t hear it or because it didn’t sink in, or because it was so profound that we needed to hear it again. Repetition is a good thing for us. In reading Proverbs 14, I saw something repeated within the chapter, which had to do with a man’s anger. Proverbs 14:29 states, “People with understanding control their anger; a hot temper shows great foolishness.”

I saw this teaching in verse 16, but it didn’t strike me until I saw it again in verse 29. The correlation of patience with understanding and wisdom, and the contrast of being quick-tempered and taking actions of folly was stressed through repetition.

Did it not sink in? Did I miss it? Or was it just that profound that I needed to hear it again? All of the above! Let’s heed these fundamental matters and walk in wisdom.

People with understanding control their anger; a hot temper shows great foolishness.

Proverbs 14:29