Right

I'm assistant coach for my son's summer league baseball team.  I have enjoyed it thoroughly.  We have a great group of boys and we've had a good season.  My task is to keep the boys in the dugout in line and the book.  I really like keeping the book and it gives me some purpose.  It also helps me focus and not yell so much :)

The other night we played a team we had not played before.  They were good competition.  We were having to dig deep within, which is good.  There wasn't another dad to help out so I also stood at first base giving my two cents to the boys when we were up...and kept the book.  (I probably need a little more practice at doing those two things at once!)

Anyway, in the second inning I noticed the score board had the other team up one run.  Young kids run the board and I'm glad they do, I figured I would correct them but let it go too long.  Middle of the third inning, when it was our turn to bat (and we would be batting last), the coaches realized our scores were off.  Our head coach asked me to go over and compare our books with theirs to get the correct score.  (It was important at this point, we were down three or four runs and this was the last bat.)

I headed over with the book, feeling confident about my work, but with an open mind (of course).  I could easily have made a mistake, especially when I was coaching at first base.

I  knew it wasn't going to go well when the lady keeping their book all but threw her book in my face and said, "Here, check it."  I was thinking we would check it together...She didn't keep her book like mine and I had a hard time making heads or tails of her markings.  I counted twice and came up with fewer runs than what she said.  When the fella came over to look, I realized (DUH!) that I was looking at our teams page and not their team.  There went my credibility.  Goodness.

But even when looking at the correct page in my book and comparing to hers, it did not match. Suddenly, the discrepancy caught my eye.  Their third out was the runner on third getting thrown out at home.  She had the two runners AFTER that runner scoring.  There is no way that could've happened...

As I was getting ready to explain this, there was a 'bad' call on the field in our favor and they went wild.  I didn't see what happened, but there had been a couple close calls earlier (again, in our favor) and these folks were HOT.   Part of me wanted to stay right in there and argue with these coaches about the last out and how their runners could not have possibly scored.  I assume my book was correct.  We were the home team.  

And frankly, I love to win.

And then I decided I didn't want to get punched, so I walked away and headed back to our team without really coming to a conclusion on the correct score.

Our fans asked me on the way back what the score was and I told them we disagreed by one run on their score.  As we went through that final bat, I was asked a couple times what the score was.  Again, I reiterated the score I thought was correct, according to my score keeping.

But as I thought about this later on, it occurred to me, I really need to be more concerned with doing right rather than being right.

These boys are watching me.  Parents are watching me.  Strangers are watching me.  God is watching me.

I don't want this team to get ticked at our summer league program and not come back.  It wasn't anything personal from my standpoint, as far as the score keeping, I was sincerely trying to figure out the discrepancy and see if I was wrong...and get it right.

Isn't that the way life is though...we get so wrapped up in being right that we forget to do what is right. I should...Do the right thing even though I may feel cheated.  Do the right thing even though it wasn't what I had in mind.  Do the right thing even if I may get in trouble. Do the right thing even if I might lose...

We ended up winning the game anyway - by one run according to them, two according to me (Ahh, can I really let it go?)

But I walked away with a new tidbit - I would rather do right than be right.

It kind of goes along with one of my favorite verses:  For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.               1 Peter 3:17 (NKJV)