Latest / The Daily Article / Why we all need the Major League Baseball playoffs
Transcript
- 0:02[SPEAKER_00]: Good morning and welcome to Denison Forum's Daily Article Podcast.
- 0:06[SPEAKER_00]: It's Thursday, October 2nd, 2025.
- 0:09[SPEAKER_00]: I'm Josh Miller, the Chief of Staff here at Denison Forum, filling in for Chris Elkins, in narrating today's daily article, authored by our senior editor for Theology, Dr. Ryan Denison.
- 0:25[SPEAKER_00]: The fallout from the government shutdown continues to dominate headlines this morning, as the news finds new ways to profile the same basic dysfunction.
- 0:36[SPEAKER_00]: Not much has changed from what I wrote on Tuesday, and to be honest, I just didn't feel any sense of peace or purpose from the Lord to cover the same ground again today.
- 0:47[SPEAKER_00]: So instead, I'd like to write about a story far closer to my heart, the major league baseball playoffs.
- 0:54[SPEAKER_00]: Now, if you're not a baseball fan, please don't turn this off quite yet.
- 0:59[SPEAKER_00]: Even if you don't plan on watching a single pitch between now and the moment baseball crowns its champion, I think there's an important lesson for each of us in what will transpire across the coming weeks.
- 1:12[SPEAKER_00]: As a Texas Ranger fan, or some might say fanatic, I'm sadly without a team to root for this postseason.
- 1:20[SPEAKER_00]: Despite having the best defense in baseball and one of the best rotations, the Rangers Enemic offense and leaky bullpen eliminated them from contention two weeks ago.
- 1:32[SPEAKER_00]: As such, I get to watch without all that much emotional investment in the outcome.
- 1:38[SPEAKER_00]: While I trade that privilege for Texas to be in the tournament in a heartbeat, it does make it a bit easier to enjoy the storylines that make this year's playoffs unique.
- 1:49[SPEAKER_00]: If, like me, you're in search of a team to follow over the next month, the ringer and the athletic both have great rundowns of the most interesting narratives this fall.
- 2:00[SPEAKER_00]: If you're a fan of underdogs, the brewers, pod rays, and mariners are all looking for their first world series win.
- 2:08[SPEAKER_00]: And in the case of the mariners, they're first trip to the world series.
- 2:13[SPEAKER_00]: If dynasties are more your thing, then may I interest you in the Dodgers and show Hiotani, one of MLB's best hitters and pitchers, who also happens to be the most talented player to ever step on the diamond.
- 2:27[SPEAKER_00]: If teams on a hot streak are more your style, then the Cleveland Guardians could be just what you're looking for.
- 2:34[SPEAKER_00]: They completed the largest comeback in League history.
- 2:37[SPEAKER_00]: After erasing a 15.5 game deficit over the season's final months to pass the Detroit Tigers and win their division.
- 2:47[SPEAKER_00]: As a reward, they now get to face those same Tigers in the first round, with the future of both teams coming down to this afternoon's Game 3.
- 2:57[SPEAKER_00]: but whoever you choose to follow, it's important to go in knowing that what happened over the last six months and 162 games really don't have all that much bearing on what will happen going forward.
- 3:11[SPEAKER_00]: The best teams in baseball this year still won less than 60% of their games, and that's with the benefit of patting their resume with baseball's worst teams during the regular season.
- 3:27[SPEAKER_00]: and hinge on a few plays here and there going in one team's favor.
- 3:33[SPEAKER_00]: That's part of the fun, but it's also why investing too much of your energy and mental well-being into a game is not always the best idea.
- 3:42[SPEAKER_00]: And I say that as someone who is relatively incapable of doing otherwise and bears the emotional scars to prove it.
- 3:50[SPEAKER_00]: While you may not have the same massacistic relationship with sports that I do, I also bear the unfortunate legacy of being a Cowboys fan, though I blame my parents for that.
- 4:01[SPEAKER_00]: Most of us struggle in some way when it comes to investing our time and energy in areas that are likely to end in hurt.
- 4:10[SPEAKER_00]: After all, the only way to completely avoid that risk would be to isolate ourselves from the world.
- 4:17[SPEAKER_00]: and God's word is clear that we shouldn't consider that an option.
- 4:21[SPEAKER_00]: Just see Matthew 5 verses 13 through 16 or John 1715.
- 4:27[SPEAKER_00]: So if we can't escape the pain of living in this world, how can we approach that risk in a way God can redeem?
- 4:36[SPEAKER_00]: To stay with the sports theme,
- 4:38[SPEAKER_00]: One of the most important lessons to learn when engaging in any athletic activity is the distinction between being hurt and being injured.
- 4:47[SPEAKER_00]: If you've ever gone for a run, lifted weights or played a sport of any kind, chances are you know what it's like to feel sore once you're done.
- 4:57[SPEAKER_00]: When that pain is new, it can be quite alarming.
- 5:01[SPEAKER_00]: If it's been a while since you exercised, you may wake up the next morning certain that you have done a reprobable harm to the muscles you didn't even know existed.
- 5:11[SPEAKER_00]: Most of the time, though, that pain is nothing to worry about, and the best way to get better is to just keep pushing forward.
- 5:19[SPEAKER_00]: By contrast, an injury requires rest and demands a level of attention that basic hurts do not.
- 5:29[SPEAKER_00]: Expecting it to improve on its own, the situation will only get worse.
- 5:35[SPEAKER_00]: In the same way, there are hurts in this life that in the moment can feel like an injury.
- 5:41[SPEAKER_00]: The first time you lose a friendship because you're unwilling to compromise your beliefs, or when you miss out on a promotion because you weren't willing to cut corners.
- 5:51[SPEAKER_00]: The pain can make you question whether staying faithful to the Lord is worth the cost.
- 5:58[SPEAKER_00]: However, God never promised us a life-devoid of pain on this side of heaven.
- 6:03[SPEAKER_00]: In fact, Jesus was quite clear in John 1633 and 1714 that we should expect a level of suffering in this life that is directly related to our decision to obey Him.
- 6:17[SPEAKER_00]: But He was equally clear in Matthew 1028 that allowing that pain to shift our allegiance is foolish.
- 6:25[SPEAKER_00]: That said, there are times in our walk with the Lord when the price for following him fits better into the injury category.
- 6:33[SPEAKER_00]: In those moments, continuing to press on as if everything is all right rather than pausing to rest and recover will only hinder our ability to serve the Lord.
- 6:45[SPEAKER_00]: Injuries caused by fellow believers can often fit this description, which is part of why Satan delights so much in fostering division within our communities of faith.
- 6:57[SPEAKER_00]: Ultimately, we must trust the Holy Spirit to help us discern the difference between being hurt and being injured.
- 7:06[SPEAKER_00]: Resting when God tells us to rest is not a sign of weakness or a lack of faith.
- 7:12[SPEAKER_00]: It's simply the best path toward restoring our ability to serve Him well.
- 7:17[SPEAKER_00]: At the same time, the goal of such rest should always be to get better, rather than to settle for a life defined by our hurt.
- 7:27[SPEAKER_00]: The kingdom of God has little use for the kind of victimhood mentality that would see us replace our identity in Christ with an identity rooted in pain and trauma that we
- 7:41[SPEAKER_00]: God wants more for us than that, and He calls us to want more for ourselves as well.
- 7:49[SPEAKER_00]: So, the next time you take a blow and service to the Lord, ask the Holy Spirit to help you know whether you're injured or just hurt.
- 7:58[SPEAKER_00]: It's going to happen to all of us if we remain faithful to Christ's call on our lives.
- 8:04[SPEAKER_00]: So learning how to heal and get back in the game is crucial.
- 8:09[SPEAKER_00]: Fortunately, we serve a God who knows how to do just that.
- 8:14[SPEAKER_00]: Will you let him?