Lessons from a Tragedy

By: Jeff Sample

I have followed former Tennessee Titan quarterback Steve McNair’s murder since the July 4th weekend - partly because I am a sports fan, partly because of the undetermined scenario, and partly because of the nature of the horrific loss for the families. It’s the latter that brings several lessons to the fore. Here’s a partial list…

Sin is a potent, deceiving, life-wrecking power from which no one is immune. The true nature of sin’s unsighted carnage unravels inexorably through a life, a home, a community, a nation. We see in retrospect, if not too late, the depth of sin’s allure. When Steve began his adulterous relationship with the 20-year-old waitress, Sahel “Jenny” Kasemi, he never envisioned it would tarnish his reputation, take his life, leave his wife a devastated widow, leave his four sons fatherless, and leave his mother without a greatly loved son. Father, give us eyes to see clearly through your word sin’s end!

Sin distorts our most important responsibilities to a greater or lesser degree. Steve McNair was known for his leadership on the football field and on a team. Lasting, important leadership begins at home; that is God’s first vocational call – lead your wife and children with strength sustained by the Spirit and humbled by self-knowledge of fallibility and on-going need of a Savior. Steve abandoned his leadership at home to date, dine, and vacation with a woman not his wife in Las Vegas, Key West, and California. He was murdered in a leased condo not more than 6 miles from his home at 1:30 AM. Steve, if only you had remained home with your wife and sons…

Sin promises more than it can deliver. Like a baited hook dropped in a stream, sin hides reality with a false promise. Steve was admired for his toughness. One opponent called him an on-field Superman. But he could not resist sin’s fraudulent promise of satisfaction. Like the simple man in Proverbs 7, he did not know her steps would lead him to death. God’s blessings enrich without ruin or sorrow; he gives satisfaction with joy.

Steve McNair’s murder tragically has become a warning to take, lest I think I am above sin’s deceit, distortion, and destruction.