They are the little yellow, silicon bracelets embossed with the word "LIVESTRONG." They are supposed to promote "cancer awareness" and support research. They bear the name of bicyclist and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong's LIVESTRONG Foundation.
The name of his foundation is a play off of his own name. The story behind it is meant to be inspiring. Armstrong not only beat cancer, but also won seven Tour de France titles.
Because of his athletic success there are many other things named after him. There is a soccer stadium in Kansas City, KS named "LIVESTRONG Sporting Park." There is a bike-way in his hometown of Austin, TX name the "Lance Armstrong Bikeway." Nike even has a building named after him in Beaverton, OR.
But a name that used to inspire is now tarnished, at best.
For the last few years, various governing organizations in the sports world have been chasing after Armstrong for "doping." They claim he used "performance enhancing drugs" in his seven Tour de France wins, as well as throughout his cycling career. Most recently, the United States Anti-Doping Agency charged Armstrong with cheating. Amid those allegations, he ceased to try to defend himself.
He has now been stripped of all of his titles, as well as having been banned for life from the sport which brought him such fame.
What about all those things named after Lance Armstrong? The very reason those buildings, bike-ways, and stadiums are named after him are the titles he has now lost. It leaves the leaders of those companies and organizations in quite a conundrum. Do they stand by Armstrong, or abandon him? His name doesn't carry the same meaning that it did before; It once stood for courage, but now it stands for cheating (or at least the allegation thereof).
I can't help but see a parallel in preaching.
Preachers heavily invest themselves in their work. While the message is the most important thing, the man proclaiming the message has a lot to do with its reception. While we may not cycle in a race, we are certainly running in one. The last thing that needs to be associated with our name is "cheater," or "hypocrite."
Paul put it this way in 1 Corinthians:
“Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” (1 Corinthians 9:26–27, NKJV)
Lance Armstrong's "disqualification" has forever tainted any message he might have "preached" in the past, or will "preach" in the future. We as Christians, and especially preachers, need to realize that in the minds of our listeners, the message we preach, the Gospel, is irrevocably tied to our reputation. If we become "disqualified," we run the risk of leading them to disqualification, too.
Guard your name; Run "the race" with discipline.
"A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches…” (Proverbs 22:1, NKJV)
-Daniel
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