Responding to Josh Hamilton's relapse

In 1999, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays made Josh Hamilton the first overall pick in the Major League Baseball draft. He was an explosive player with a rifle of a throwing arm and the kind of home run power scouts can’t help but tell fish stories about. But Hamilton ended up having something else too: a drug and alcohol problem.

By 2003 Hamilton had washed out of baseball because of cocaine and alcohol addiction. Then, in 2007, he found his way to the Cincinnati Reds, where he burst back onto the scene with a bang. He had cleaned himself up after finding faith in Christ and some healthy relationships with people who supported him. After being traded to the Texas Rangers in the off-season of that year, he went on to become one of baseball’s biggest stars, winning the American League MVP award in 2010. He went on to sign a five-year contract worth $125 million with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim prior to the 2013 season. It was a tremendous comeback story, the best kind.

During his rise to the top, Hamilton became a Christian hero. Articles, tracts, and books were written detailing his story of redemption. He made the talk show circuit and shared his story time and again. He was honest about his struggles and the ongoing need for accountability in his life. He was a Christian hero and was treated as such. Maybe too much so.

Last week, news broke about a significant relapse by Hamilton. Full details have yet to be released, but reports state that he fell back into cocaine and alcohol abuse and may face disciplinary action from Major League Baseball.

Well, what now? How do Christians respond after a person we set up as a hero has fallen?

First, we need to recognize the uniqueness of the situation. Addiction leads to sin, but it is a different sort of struggle. Hamilton and others who battle it need exceptional help and assistance to walk uprightly. Second, we need to realize the inevitability of a fall. Humans are fallen by nature, and that means we will fall over and over again. It’s because of this inevitability that we must realize the third thing: our own culpability. Lifting up fallen people as paragons of virtue and banners of success piles pressure on them. We leave them no room to fail even though we know they will. We make their lives more difficult and force them toward either public shame or public deceit.

Christians often try too hard to find heroes. There is a distinct difference between appreciating someone’s story of redemption and making them a poster boy of faith. In doing so we put the emphasis on their lives and their works, and take it off of God’s grace. Grace is the differentiating characteristic between Christianity and every other religion, and when we downplay it we actually lose our witness. So how do we respond when one of our heroes relapses? We see ourselves in it and recognize the universal, deep need for God’s grace. This is what sets us apart and it’s what Josh Hamilton (and you) need now.