A Little Extra Time

Andres Cantor ranks among this country's best soccer broadcasters.  But as we drove up the highway on a Sunday afternoon, he frustrated us - as he seemingly refused to give the score of the World Cup Finals during the second half.

Our path home from another event took us past a casino, and we had our casino card just in case we had to time to stop for a little play.  Cantor's drama finally proved the deciding factor.  We stopped at the casino to watch the remainder of the match -- and only after walking to a big-screen TV near a bar did we understand what was happening.  Cantor gave no score because there was no score - a 0-0 tie.

The tie remained after 90 minutes, so we walked to an Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em table to (a) see if we could pay for our gas on the trip and (b) watch the overtime periods.  We answered some general soccer questions for a man sitting to our right, who didn't seem to know the game well.  But poker he knew; he had a much bigger stack of chips than we did.

BLINDS: $5 (plus $5 ante)

IN THE POCKET: 8-2 offsuit (as best we recall)

Any two cards can win, they say - but these cards aren't likely to take us anywhere.  But it's free to check, and so we do.

ON THE FLOP: 6-8-6

OK, we'll take that back!  Two pair looks good in this game, so we plunk down a $10 bet (two times the blind).  This commits us for the hand, and there's no further action required on our part.

ON THE TURN/RIVER: K-5

We're feeling confident, although the King makes us wonder.  Then the dealer turns over his cards -- and they're K-5, matching the last two!  After a couple of small early gains, this is a $20 loss.

We stayed at the table until the final whistle sounded, watched Germany's Goetze get the golden goal (your tongue twister for the day) and explained a bit more about pro soccer.  We left with a $30 loss, plus a $5 tip for the dealer.

MINISTRY MOMENT: We left trying to say something about the site of the soccer match. "May everyone follow the One shown in that statue," we said (sort of).  Rio de Janeiro is famous for a 98-foot-tall statue of Jesus Christ.

Was all that a sufficient testimony of our faith?  Some religious groups might say simply befriending the man next to us and answering soccer question was a "witness" enough. But that strikes us as an example, more than a witness.

A truthful witness gives honest testimony, but a false witness tells lies. - Proverbs 12:17

We've heard church pastors say Christians are to be "lights" and not "loudspeakers."  But if a witness says nothing about what he or she has experienced, will anyone get the message?  Based on our years walking a Christian walk, a few people might -- but not many.

This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. - I Corinthians 2:13

The apostle Paul believed in speaking what was on his mind -- and the things of Jesus were on his mind often.  If we dare to speak about Christian things, some people around us still may not get the message.  But at least they'll have heard it -- and they'll be without excuse when they stand before Jesus for judgment.