I don’t know who coined the phrase “ugly as sin,” but I would not be surprised to find the ugly sin was jealousy. Cain slaughtered his own brother in a fit of jealousy. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers because they were jealous of him.
Jealousy is ugly, but love is a beautiful thing. Baseball Hall of Fame and All Century Team member, Yogi Berra, makes the point like no one else can in his book, “What Time Is It? You Mean Now?” Yogi played on 10 world championship teams and the one thing those teams had in common was a genuine love for the team and for each member of the team.
Speaking of his teammates, especially Mickey Mantle, Yogi says, “We never had any jealousies; we all pulled for each other, no matter what. All of us loved Mickey Mantle because he was the best teammate you could have ... I always say the best example of Mickey never being jealous was when he got hurt in 1961 and fell behind Roger Maris in the home run race. He led the cheers for Roger.”
Yogi makes his point in a more personal way when he writes about his three older brothers, who never had the opportunity to play professional baseball. Yogi writes, “Tony, Mike and John were all excellent players and Tony — we called him Lefty — was the best in the family. But Pop never let them pursue baseball because he didn’t see any future in it. Besides, my brothers had jobs that brought money to the house every week, and every penny counted. My brothers lobbied Pop to allow me the chance — they even offered to work extra to bring home more money to make up for me — and he finally agreed. When I made it to the Yankees years later, I told Pop he would’ve been a millionaire if he’d let my brothers play, too. He said, ‘Blame your mother.’”
Yogi’s brothers are certainly nothing like the brother of Abel or the brothers of Joseph. Yes, jealousy is an ugly thing, but love is something truly beautiful.
Carson City has witnessed many beautiful expressions of love in May. Churches have come together to pray for and to support one another.
Service clubs and organizations have worked hand-in-hand to better our community.
Keep on loving. Keep up the good work. You make Carson City a truly beautiful place to live!
Ken Haskins is pastor of First Christian Church in Carson City.