Lin-sanity

To be honest, when I first saw the video of Lin against Nets with his 25 points, my reaction was – lucky kid. I was quite surprise there was no big hoo-ha over an Asian dude in NBA prior to his Nets win, and was just thinking that it probably was just a fluke streak.

Turns out it was not a fluke streak.

This guy’s the real deal. For four days in a row, I watched the NBA highlights – not because I intentionally visit the NBA site, but because my Facebook was flooded with either Jeremy Lin or Whitney Houston. When the 38 point victory over Lakers came, it struck home. This Chinese dude can play basketball – and he can play it well. A bit ironical as I believe that the icon for basketball pop culture was Slam Dunk, but the guy to actually realize it is Jeremy Lin, not Jeremy Nagasato or something.

Well you can argue that maybe it’s precisely because he’s an Asian, that’s why he’s garnering all the attention he has right now. Just to ground ourselves in reality, the last time someone obtain stats like Jeremy, that ‘someone’ was LeBron James. I’m pretty sure everybody knows who LeBron James is, and I’m pretty sure that everyone knows who Jeremy Lin is right now – they are on the same skill page.

What struck me more was that he’s a devout Christian, not just an average churchgoer, but someone who puts God ahead of his life. In an age like this, ingenious sportsmen and devout Christians stand almost on complete antithetical grounds – just look at the football players. In a way, the temptation is humungous – fame, money, women, fans… it’s like the world at your fingertips. If one is not grounded firmly in truth and faith, one will be drift wood in the tide.

That’s also why I said a prayer for Lin that night I read his story, and I hope to remember this brother in Christ in my prayers all the time. God is the God of basketball. It is in His sweet pleasure that He endows Lin with such skills, and such humility that all glory might be for Him.

Soli Deo Gloria.