You gotta love Jeremy Lin, and I say that not only as a recently minted Houstonian who is looking forward to some serious Harden/Howard/Parsons beatdowns. In an article posted yesterday, ESPN reports on Lin’s unusual candor before a crowd of Taiwanese (presumably) Christian youth:
Lin went as far to say that he experienced “emptiness, confusion and misery” at points last season. “The one thing I learned was how empty fame and worldly success really are. … The desire for success never stopped,” Lin said. “If the voice that you listen to the most isn’t God’s voice, then eventually you will experience that emptiness, confusion and misery that I felt when I listened to the voice of Linsanity.”
Of greatest interest to me is the way in which Lin’s striving to be his “best self” so quickly turned to self-judgment, self-loathing and self-destruction. Lex semper accusat (the law always accuses), as they say, even if that law is self-made.
“I became so obsessed with becoming a great basketball player … trying to be Linsanity, being this phenomenon that took the NBA by storm,” Lin told a crowd of approximately 20,000 at the Dream Big, Be Yourself youth conference in Taipei, Taiwan.
“I was ready to invigorate the entire city of Houston,” he said. “I was supposed to save Houston basketball.”
Being a devout Christian didn’t save Lin from trying to take the Savior’s place (if only on the court), a trap all of us fall into and which always has disastrous consequences. Here’s hoping that Lin, having been brought to the end of himself, rediscovers the joy and freedom he had before he started trying to live up to the law of Linsanity.
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6 responses to “Jeremy Lin Crushed by the Law of Linsanity”
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Well said.
RJ-
Great to read an article by you, thank you for this. It’s a reminder to ALL of us regardless of our roles. As a mommy, I too am crushed by trying to be a Savior to my fam, only to be crushed…..again & again, when will I learn?! So glad you’re in H-town, let’s go see the Rockets this season and cheer them on to those beat downs!
Sylvia Harris
Thanks Sylvia! And I hear ya. It’s so easy for me to take everything on my own shoulders, and only when it fails utterly do I remember the truth of the Gospel and am set free by it. And, agreed on the Rockets! Now if only the Astros could get their act together:)
The good thing about him is he humbles himself every time he realizes he’s gone too far. During Linsanity he admitted in an interview that he was arrogant in highschool and God humbled him by not giving him that many chances to the point where he couldn’t get drafted by the NBA. I don’t see one bit of conceit in this guy but well, he knows himself better than I do. 😉 The best thing is to always surrender our hopes and ambitions to God because He knows what is best for us, and He will give us nothing less. We need more athletes like Jeremy Lin. 🙂
AJ – that’s what I’ve heard about him, which is so admirable for someone in the public eye. I’ve also heard that the documentary “Linsanity” is pretty great. Have you seen it?
No, I haven’t. I’ve only seen the trailer, and I’m very excited to see the whole thing. I’m in the Philippines and I haven’t heard from the movie interns if they’re gonna show it here. I kinda doubt it. But I’ll make sure that I see it. Can’t wait to have my own copy so I can show it to everybody. 🙂